
VIVIAN CAULFEILO 




Class (3 

Book 6 ^ 



HOW TO SKI 



AND 



HOW NOT TO 



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Photo by 



Miss E. J'risby. 



The Adelboden Jumping-hill. 



Frontispiece. 



HOW TO SKI 

AND 

HOW NOT TO 



BY 

VIVIAN CAULFEILD 



PHOTOGRAPHS BY K. DELAP 



THIRD AND REVISED EDITION 



NEW YORK 
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 

597-599 FIFTH AVENUE 
1914 



(^ 



-Of 



Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson dr' Co. 
at the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh 



i- 

00 



PREFACE TO REVISED EDITION 

The alterations and additions to this book in 
its present form are due partly to fresh practical 
experience ; partly to adverse criticism of which 
I now see the justice ; and partly, as I freely 
admit, to the picking of other people's brains. 
Since this book was published I have read for the 
first time books on ski-ing by Zdarsky, Bilgeri, 
Luther, and Arnold Lunn, and have re-read those 
of Richardson, Rickmers, Paulcke, and Hoek. 
As a result I have had to alter a good deal of 
my theory and some of my practice, and to 
alter and enlarge this book accordingly. To 
all the above-named authors, therefore, I am 
more or less indebted, and feel correspondingly 
grateful. 

In adopting an idea one can seldom help alter- 
ing it more or less, and if in the body of the 
book I have made few direct acknowledgments, 
it has been from no lack of gratitude, but rather 
from a doubt whether the originator of the idea 
would be gratified at its development or indig- 
nant at its distortion. 

I must however make special acknowledgments 



vi HOW TO SKI 

to Ober-Leutnant Bilgeri. From his excellent 
book I have gained much fresh knowledge of 
the theory and practice of ski-ing. This book, 
moreover, while confirming me in my opinion of 
the vices of the Lilienfeld system of ski-running, 
has given me a fresh insight into the virtues of 
the Lilienfeld system of teaching, and conse- 
quently a fresh sense of my indebtedness to 
the chief apostle of this system, my first teacher, 
Mr. Eickmers. 

If Herr Bilgeri has ever happened to read my 
book, certain resemblances between it and his 
own — the analogy of the bicycle and tricycle with 
the single and double-track runner, for instance 
— may, since his book was published first, have 
struck him as remarkable. I take this oppor- 
tunity of assuring him that when I wrote this 
book I had not read his, nor for that matter 
any of his writings, and that, if I had, the 
resemblances would have been not only fully 
acknowledged, but considerably more numerous. 

To Mr. E. C. Richardson I must return special 
thanks for criticism that has shown me the 
error of some of my ways of thinking ; I have 
also to thank Mr. C. W. Richardson for new 
ideas gained from an article by him on "Knee 
Action in Ski-ing." 

Finally, I wish to express my gratitude to 
everyone whose suggestions I have adopted, or 



PREFACE TO EEVISED EDITION vii 

who, either by precept or example, has taught me 
anything new and so has had a hand in the 
revision of this book, but to whom I have not 
referred individually. 

This heavy list of acknowledgments makes me 
realise more than ever how difficult it is nowa- 
days for a writer on ski-ing technique — or at 
any rate for this writer — to say anything new. I 
am afraid that even a succds de scandale as the 
fanatical prophet of complete sticklessness will 
soon be out of my reach, if it is not already, 
for we are all agreed now that the stick should 
be used as little as possible, and therefore that 
not to use it at all is, if possible, best. It is 
a short step from this to finding out by practical 
experience that, so long as one is travelling 
on snow, not ice, and has a little more than 
room enough to place the skis horizontally across 
the slope, one can move just as freely, quickly, 
and easily, and with just as perfect control, 
without the stick as with it. 

E. V. s. a 

Decemher 1912. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTORY— 

The Englishman as a Ski-runner .... 1 

equipment- 
Tee Ski 23 

THE MANAGEMENT OF THE SKIS— 

On the Level and Uphill 52 

General Principles of Steering, &c. ... 75 
Straight-running . . . . . . . .97 

Braking 120 

The Stemming Turn 136 

The Telemark Swing 159 

The Christiania Swing 175 

Jumping Round 210 

Skating 214 

JUMPING 217 

how to run across country .... 252 

appendix- 
How TO Practise 280 



viii 



HOW TO SKI 

INTRODUCTORY 

THE ENGLISHMAN AS A SKI-RUNNER 

Probably every one likely to read this book 
knows that a ski is a snow-shoe or skate, and 
that it is a long narrow plank turned up in 
front, but he may not have a very clear idea 
of the use of it. 

It may not have occurred to him, for instance, 
that in a country which is deeply covered with 
soft snow (the surface of snow is sometimes a 
hard crust) a man without snow-shoes of some 
kind is not merely unable to move quickly, but 
is unable to move at all outside the cleared 
roads and beaten tracks. 

Merely to prevent sinking into the snow the 
ski is just as useful as a snow-shoe of the racquet 
form, such as the Canadian, and it is never less 
useful than the other even when it seems most 
likely to be. For moving through dense under- 
wood, for instance, when its length would appear 

a 



2 HOW TO SKI 

likely to be awkward, or for hauling sledges, when 
its slipperiness would seem a disadvantage, ex- 
perience shows that the ski is fully as useful as 
the other type. 

As a means of locomotion it is altogether supe- 
rior. Over level open country a man can slide 
along on skis a great deal faster than he can 
walk (or run) on Canadian snow-shoes. 

In hilly country the ski-runner has a further 
advantage. If a hill is not steep a man may walk 
straight up it on racquets rather more quickly 
than a man on skis can climb it by zigzagging 
(as he is obliged to do on all but the most gradual 
slopes) ; but on the descent the ski-runner more 
than makes up the time he has lost ; for, helped 
by gravity, he slides down the hill at least 
three, perhaps as much as thirty, times as fast 
as he climbed it, according to his expertness 
and the nature of the ground, while the other 
takes almost as long to walk down as he did to 
walk up. 

On very steep ground the ski-runner has a 
still greater advantage, for here the narrowness 
of the ski allows him to move across the steepest 
snow slopes with little or no discomfort to his 
ankles, while on a steep slope the man on 
racquets is practically helpless, for, on account of 



HOW TO SKI 3 

their shape, it is only with the utmost difficulty, 
if at all, that he can move either up, down, 
or across the hill. 

A moderately expert ski-runner can manoeuvre 
on any sort of ground which is covered with 
snow, provided that the surface of the snow be 
not so hard that the edges of his skis can make 
absolutely no impression in it. The steepness of 
a slope, no matter how great, is in itself no 
obstacle to his manoeuvring with perfect freedom ; 
it need only be reckoned with in so far as it 
relates to the danger of avalanche. 

This should give some idea of the scope of 
ski-running considered merely as a means of 
locomotion. 

With regard to the possibilities of ski-running 
considered purely as a sport, it may be said that a 
good runner, descending a steep hill where the 
ground is open, will often cover a considerable 
distance at an average rate of 45 miles an hour : 
that when moving at half that speed he can 
thread his way among obstacles or stop suddenly ; 
and that the present record for a jump on skis is 
about 154 feet. I need hardly say, therefore, that 
the opportunities afforded by the sport for the 
exercise not only of the runner's nerve, but of his 
skill and judgment are almost unlimited. 



4 HOW TO SKI 

Now it is only by learning the best methods 
and style at the very outset (or by changing 
them if he has started with bad ones) that a 
man can develop to the utmost whatever latent 
capacity for ski-running he may possess, and 
only in this way that he is ever likely to become 
expert enough to have any right to the title of 
a good runner. 

At this point I had better, for the benefit of 
those readers who have already used skis, give 
some sort of definition of good ski-running as I 
understand it. 

It is not quite easy to do so, but I take it 
that the best judges would hardly call a man a 
good runner unless he could run steadily, quickly, 
and easily down any hill on which ski-ing was 
possible at all — no matter how difficult the ground 
might be as regards obstacles, gradient, and 
condition of snow — without ever using his stick 
as an aid to the balance or for steering ^ or, except 
on the very rarest occasions, for helping him to 
slow up or stop; and unless he could, on an 
ordinary jumping hill, make jumps of fair length 
without falling very often. 

Such a man would probably be able to make, in 
that kind of snow which is appropriate to each, 
all the swings and turns to either right or left 



HOW TO SKI 5 

while running at a good speed, and would almost 
certainly both run and jump in really good style. 

A good runner, indeed, can nearly always be 
recognised by his style, although, of course, a man 
cannot be called a bad runner, however bad his 
style, if he is really fast and steady downhill, 
and can make long jumps with certainty. But 
a ski-runner with a bad style is below his proper 
form; if, with a bad style, he is fairly fast and 
steady, and is good at jumping, he would with 
a good style be exceptionally so. 

Among the Scandinavians or the best con- 
tinental runners, no one would be considered at 
all good on skis unless he more or less fulfilled 
the above definition. Among English runners, I 
am sorry to say, the standard, not only of per- 
formance, but of criticism, is far lower, and 
although there are by this time many English- 
men who are capable tourists and mountaineers 
on skis, there are almost none who can be called 
good runners in the above sense, or who can 
be compared with the best continental runners 
even, while to compare them with the best 
Scandinavians would be ludicrous. 

Among the English at Swiss winter-places a 
man is often spoken of as '* good at ski-ing " for 
no better reason than that he spends most of his 



6 HOW TO SKI 

time on skis and has climbed several hills on 
them, or has crossed several passes; while if 
it is known that, as a rule, he gets through a 
day's run without falling, he is sure to be con- 
sidered a most accomplished ski-runner. Quite 
as reasonably might a man gain a reputation for 
fine horsemanship simply through being able to 
make long journeys on horseback without falling 
off or getting exhausted. Just as the latter may 
easily be a poor horseman, so may the former be 
a very poor ski-runner ; the fact that he may 
happen to be a great mountaineer gives him no 
more claim to the title of a fine ski-runner than 
does the fact of his being a fine ski-runner 
to the title of a great mountaineer. 

If asked his opinion of some such champion, a 
good Swiss runner will usually answer tactfully, 
*' He is good, for an Englishman." The full value 
of this compliment can only be appreciated by 
some one who, like myself, has overheard Swiss 
runners criticise an exhibition of unusual awk- 
wardness and timidity on the part of one of their 
own countrymen in the words, " He runs like an 
Englishman." 

It would be very nice to think that jealousy 
of our prowess in ski-ing made them talk like this^ 
but that, unfortunately, is out of the question. 



HOW TO SKI 7 

The fact is that most Enghsh runners seem to 
be perfectly contented with just so much skill as 
will enable them to get up and down a hill at a 
moderate speed and without many falls. Having 
acquired this, they give up practising altogether, 
and devote the rest of their ski-ing lives to 
making tours, never attempting to become really 
fast or skilful runners or to go in for jumping, 
even in its mildest form. 

It is rather curious that this should be the case, 
for most English ski- runners are young and active 
men, accustomed to other sports and games, who, 
I suppose, take up ski-running at least as much 
for its own sake as with the object of using it as 
an aid to mountain-climbing and touring. 

Surely, then, one might reasonably expect that 
a fair number of them would become really fine 
runners, that nearly all of them would try to, 
and that even those who had no ambition to excel 
in the sport for its own sake would be anxious 
to increase their efficiency as mountaineers or 
tourists, and would therefore, at the very least, 
try to run in good style ; for good style, in ski- 
running as in every other game or athletic sport, 
means economy of muscular force, which is surely 
an important consideration to the mountaineer. 

Most good Swiss runners, I am sure, think 



8 HOW TO SKI 

that the Englishman is constitutionally incapable 
of becoming really good on skis. To me, at any 
rate, it is by no means surprising that they 
should think so, for, taking any average pair of 
ski-runners, Swiss and English, who are about 
equally matched in age, physique, and ski-ing 
experience, even if there be little to choose 
between them in the matter of skill, there is in 
one respect a very marked difference — the Eng- 
lishman nearly always running more slowly and 
cautiously and altogether with less dash than the 
Swiss. In fact, not to put too fine a point upon 
it, the Englishman, as compared with the Swiss, 
generally shows what an unsympathetic critic 
might call a distinct tendency to funk. 

How English and Swiss ski-runners compare, 
in this respect, with those of other countries I 
have had no opportunity of judging, but that, 
when compared with each other, there is this 
difference between them must be obvious to any 
impartial observer. If the Englishman's lack of 
dash arises entirely from poorness of nerve, he is, 
of course, very heavily handicapped, though not, 
perhaps, hopelessly so, for patience, determina- 
tion, and careful training will do wonders in the 
improvement of bad nerve. I should like, how- 
ever, to think that there may be some more 



HOW TO SKI 9 

flattering explanation of this phenomenon — I 
have, for instance, heard it said that the fact 
that most Englishmen are unaccustomed to steep 
slopes may have something to do with it — but 
I must confess that, so far, I have not hit upon 
one that entirely satisfies me. 

I have heard two excuses given (by English- 
men) for the low standard of English ski-ing as 
compared with Swiss. One is that the English- 
man gets less practice than the Swiss. This is a 
mistake. The average English runner perhaps 
gets only three or four weeks each winter, but 
the average Swiss gets no more, for he has his 
work to do, and though he spends his winter in 
the snow he usually only goes ski-ing on Sundays. 
The best Swiss runners no doubt are usually 
guides, or men who spend most of their time in 
the winter on skis; but this is not always so, 
and I know more than one first-class Swiss 
runner who gets little more than one day a week. 
Among English runners the proportion of those 
who spend most of their winter on skis is 
much greater than among the Swiss ; yet there 
are now many really first-rate Swiss runners, 
but, as I have said, hardly any English 
ones. 

The other excuse is that most English ski- 



10 HOW TO SKI 

runners have taken up the sport comparatively 
late in life. 

No doubt they have, and so, for that 
matter, have many of the continental runners 
— and a few of the best of them. But to begin 
late is much less of a handicap than might 
be imagined, for a man may become a skilful 
ski-runner without possessing any of the char- 
acteristics of extreme youth. 

That is to say that, provided he has a fair 
stock of intelligence, patience, and nerve (and a 
good teacher), he need have no special aptitude 
for picking up the knack of unaccustomed move- 
ments, nor need he have more than ordinary 
strength and activity. 

The games and sports which are most difficult 
to learn late in life are those which call for 
" knack " — in other words, the ability to perform 
easily a rapid and accurate co-ordinated move- 
ment of a number of muscles. If this movement 
is an unaccustomed one, the ability to perform it 
properly is only attainable by long practice. 

The action of throwing, for instance, requires 
knack. It is this which makes it so difficult to 
learn to throw with the left hand, even though 
one already has the ability to move the left arm 
with quite sufficient strength and speed, and 



HOW TO SKI II 

not only knows how the movement should be 
made, but even how it feels to make it with the 
other hand. Writing is another excellent ex- 
ample of knack. 

In ski-running nothing which can strictly be 
called knack comes into play. In this sport 
the voluntary muscular movements (as distin- 
guished from the involuntary ones used in keep- 
ing the balance) are neither complicated nor 
unusual, and, except in jumping, they need 
seldom be rapid. Any difficulty in learning them 
is due partly to the disturbing effect on one's 
clear-headedness of the speed at which one is 
travelling, and partly to the fact that some of 
the movements, though simple in themselves, are 
almost the reverse of those one's natural in- 
stinct would prompt one to make in the cir- 
cumstances. This difficulty, of course, diminishes 
with practice, but an effort of will goes just as 
far as, or even farther than practice towards 
overcoming it. Were it not for this difficulty, 
a man who had been told the right way to 
perform the various manoeuvres employed in 
ski-ing might very well do them fairly correctly 
the first time he tried (as many people actually 
do), while no amount of strength, activity, intelli- 
gence, or confidence would enable him, if right- 



12 HOW TO SKI 

handed, to throw or to write properly with his 
left hand without long practice. 

The balancing difficulty is far less serious 
than is usually supposed. It is the unexpected 
movements of the skis which generally upset 
the balance ; and if one has a clear compre- 
hension of the way in which various combi- 
nations of gradient, speed, quality of snow, &;c., 
affect their motion (see p. 74, &c.), one will seldom 
be taken by surprise. Any one who can stand 
steadily on one leg, when not on skis, for a 
quarter of a minute, without waving his other 
limbs about, has sufficient sense of balance to 
become a first-rate ski-runner. Intelligence and 
nerve — the latter including both coolness and 
dash — are the main factors in good running. 
It is hard to say which is the more important. 
Most of one's mistakes in ski-ing can perhaps 
be traced to want of nerve, but the most per- 
fect nerve will not compensate for lack of intelli- 
gence. The intelligent man will soon see that 
there is very little to be afraid of, that the 
risk of injury from falling (on snow), even when 
running fast or alighting after a long jump, 
is very slight, and that to run with confidence 
and dash will lessen the danger rather than 
increase it. When he has thoroughly realised 



HOW TO SKI 13 

this, the intelligent man, though his nerve may 
be none of the best, will probably, if he has 
any determination, soon beat the absolutely 
intrepid but stupid one. 

Unless, then, we are to believe that a man 
loses most of his nerve, intelligence and will- 
power with his first youth, there is nothing to 
prevent him from learning to ski well when no 
longer very young. 

My own belief is that the best excuse for the 
low standard of British ski-running is ignorance 
and bad tuition. 

A few English runners have learnt a good 
system of ski-ing ; but these have generally had 
bad teachers — Swiss guides, very likely, who, 
though first-rate runners themselves, had more 
instinct than science, and were quite incapable 
of imparting clearly to a beginner whatever 
knowledge they possessed. The majority of 
English ski-runners have learnt a thoroughly 
had system, and have very likely learnt at the 
same time to believe that it is an exceptionally 
sound one. 

The members of both these classes are, as a 
rule, profoundly ignorant of what an expert 
can do on skis, of the real advantage of be- 
coming an expert — or, at any rate, as skilful as 



14 HOW TO SKI 

possible — and of the best way to set about 
doing so. 

There is no reason whatever why, with 
practice and good teaching, any man should not 
become a fairly skilful runner ; even if he cannot 
run with great dash and speed, he can, at least, 
learn to do so in good style, without — or practi- 
cally without — any help from his stick. 

Very few Englishmen try to do this ; indeed, 
next to caution, the most prominent characteristic 
of English ski-running is bad style. 

Now nearly all the continental runners — 
certainly all the best of them — have taken the 
Norwegians as their model, and have, in conse- 
quence, aimed not only at running as fast and 
steadily, but also, in one sense, as easily as pos- 
sible ; that is to say, with the least muscular 
effort compatible with a perfect control of their 
skis, or, to put it more simply, in the best style. 

Most Englishmen, however, have learnt a 
very different method of ski-ing. This system 
also teaches the beginner to run as easily 
as possible, but in quite another sense. The 
whole aim of the system is to dispense as far 
as possible with skill rather than with effort. 
That is to say, it directly encourages bad style. 

The system is the invention of an Austrian, 



HOW TO SKI 15 

Herr Zdarsky, who, having never seen a ski- 
runner and knowing nothing about skis or their 
management, got a pair from Norway, and 
reasoned out a method of using them, eventually 
altering them to suit his method. 

This was certainly a very surprising achieve- 
ment, as every one will agree who realises not 
only the practical difEculty of ski-running, but 
the complication of its dynamics. 

What is less surprising, when one remembers 
the origin of Zdarsky's system, is that it teaches 
not one simple method of controlling the skis that 
had not been discovered long before, and but few 
of those that had been. It must in fact be 
regarded, not as a new and different system, 
but as a small part of an old one — the whole 
Norwegian system of ski-running. 

The distinguishing features of Zdarsky's 
system are an almost exclusive reliance on the 
snow-plough position (or an approximation to 
it), for either braking, turning, or stopping, a 
deliberate use of the stick to assist these man- 
oeuvres and to help the balance on all occasions, 
an extreme dislike to going fast, and, in general, 
a pronounced tendency to avoid difficulties of 
balance rather than to overcome them, and to 
encourage timidity as well as clumsiness. 



1 6 HOW TO SKI 

The main object of Zdarsky's system is to 
enable a beginner to run safely on steep and 
difficult ground with the least possible pre- 
liminary practice; and so far, no doubt, it is 
successful. But its very weakness is what makes 
it successful, for it turns out ski-runners quickly 
by allowing them to run badly. It is the very 
worst school for a beginner who takes up ski-ing 
no less for its own sake than as a means to 
an end, for if he begins in this way, sooner or 
later he will have to alter his methods entirely, 
and get rid of a lot of bad habits which he would 
never have acquired if he had, from the outset, 
learnt his ski-ing in the Norwegian manner. 

To become a fairly proficient stick-riding and 
zigzagging crawler is a very simple matter ; but 
to get beyond this point, and, discarding the 
help of the stick, to learn an equally safe but 
considerably quicker and more comfortable style 
of running, is impossible without devoting some 
time and pains to practising, though far less of 
both than is usually supposed. 

Every one, of course, has a perfect right to 
choose the style of ski-ing that suits him best. If 
a man looks upon ski-running simply as a means 
of locomotion, or if he dislikes the trouble of 
practising, or has exceptionally poor nerve, or is 



HOW TO SKI 17 

extraordinarily clumsy, he will very likely be 
perfectly satisfied with a slow stick-riding system, 
and will quite reasonably refuse to try anything 
else. So far there is no harm done. 

Unfortunately, however, many of those who 
choose this primitive method of ski-ing make the 
absurd mistake of thinking that their method is 
a particularly sound and practical one, and delude 
the innocent novice into thinking the same. 

Realising that without the stick they them- 
selves would be helpless, they say that its help is 
indispensable for safe running. Anything which 
they cannot do themselves, such as running with 
the skis together so as to leave a single track ; 
turning or stopping by a free use of the different 
swings, &c., instead of by their own dreadful imi- 
tation of the Stemming turn and Christiania ; 
fast straight-running ; jumping, and so on, they 
condemn as showy, unsafe, and of no practical use, 
and class under the general heading of " fancy 
tricks." The absurdity of this standpoint will 
be patent to any one who knows the immense 
superiority of good running to bad, as regards 
ease, sureness, and speed. 

Let us compare ski-running with horseman- 
ship. Just as the ski-runner undoubtedly finds 
it easier at first to run with the aid of the 



1 8 HOW TO SKI 

stick than without, so the man who mounts a 
horse for the first time will certainly find it a 
good deal easier to keep in the saddle if he holds 
on to it by the pommel or cantle. I believe, 
however, that there is no school of horseman- 
ship which advocates this method of riding as 
being particularly practical. 

The reasons against the use of the stick as an 
aid to the balance in ski-running are much the 
same as those against using the saddle for the 
same purpose in riding. There is a waste of 
energy in each case, for it is doing clumsily by 
brute force what can be done more comfortably, 
gracefully, and effectively by skill. Moreover, the 
balance, when helped in this way, never improves, 
but remains permanently bad. 

Correct position, narrow track, complete com- 
mand of the different swings — all those things, 
in fact, which distinguish good style from bad 
— mean economy of force, and are therefore 
eminently practical. To say that jumping is a 
useless accomplishment may at first sight appear 
justifiable. In one sense there is not much 
practical use in jumping, for occasions are not 
very often met with in the course of a tour 
where a jump is the only way, or even the 
safest way, out of a difficulty. 



HOW TO SKI 19 

But in another sense jumping is extremely 
practical. It accustoms a runner to moving at 
the highest possible speed, and shows him that 
he need not mind taking a fall at this speed ; 
moreover, to quote from Mr. Richardson's excel- 
lent jumping chapter in " The Ski-Runner," " the 
first thing which a jumper has to learn is how 
to keep calm and collected and to make up his 
mind instantly what to do next when travelling 
at top speed — just the very things, in fact, which 
he must learn if he wants to be a good cross- 
country runner. For these reasons it is the 
very best and quickest way of generally improv- 
ing a mans running." 

A very common attitude of Englishmen to- 
wards ski-jumping is to treat it as a showy and 
dangerous acrobatic display, all very well for 
reckless and athletic youths, but out of the ques- 
tion for any one else. Yet I suppose that among 
the men who take up this attitude there are 
many who ride to hounds, and very few who, 
though they may not themselves hunt, would 
dream of attributing to men or even women 
who do so either undue recklessness or unusual 
acrobatic ability. 

Though there may be a doubt as to whether 
making a jump of moderate length on skis or 



20 HOW TO SKI 

riding a horse over a fence is the more difficult 
feat, there can be none whatever as to which ia 
the more dangerous. Ski-jumping, indeed, is so 
safe that perhaps it could hardly lay claim to 
the title of a great sport but for the fact that 
it is not only difficult, but also exceedingly, 
if unreasonably, alarming — at all events to the 
beginner. It seems strange that so many 
able-bodied English ski-runners never so much 
as give jumping a trial, unless they have an 
altogether wrong idea of its danger. 

I spoke just now of the ignorance which made 
many bad runners condemn a better style of 
ski-ing than their own. It is not easy, at first 
sight, to see why this ignorance as to the com- 
parative advantages of good and bad running 
should be so common as it is, for at most of the 
Swiss winter places there are among the natives 
some really good performers The English, how- 
ever, get few opportunities of watching the Swiss 
runners, except on the jumping hill, and seldom 
see them doing their best across country, for 
these men, unless they happen to be guides, 
do most of their ski-ing with their own 
countrymen, the members of their own local 
ski-club. 

Moreover, a good ski-runner is not seen at his 



HOW TO SKI 21 

best when acting as a guide, for he has to go 
slowly, and look after the weaker members of the 
party, and there is no element of competition to 
put him on his mettle. 

Whatever may be the reason, the fact remains 
that the average British ski-runner has little or 
no idea of the superiority of good running to bad 
as regards safety, comfort, and speed — to say 
nothing of interest or beauty. He would pro- 
bably be surprised and somewhat sceptical if told 
that by learning a good style of ski-ing he would 
find it possible to do the downhill portion of his 
tours in about half the time (or less), with half 
the fatigue, with just as few falls (if he wished to 
avoid them), and with far less chance of hurt- 
ing himself when he did fall — for bad style 
means awkward falls ; that he would thus get 
infinitely more pleasure, interest, and excite- 
ment out of his ski-ing, and that, moreover, 
by going in for jumping he would still further 
increase all these benefits without increasing his 
risks. 

I hope that by means of this rather ram- 
bling discourse I may have managed, not only 
to show what, in my opinion, are the reasons 
for the low standard of English ski-ing, but 
at the same time to implant a conviction of sin 



^1 HOW TO SKI 

in the conscience of the average English ski- 
runner. 

The object of the rest of this book is to show 
him what, to my thinking, is the way of salvation, 
and to place the innocent novice in the path of 
virtue at the very outset. 



EQUIPMENT 

THE SKI 

The Wood. — Skis are usually made of ash, which 
is, perhaps, on the whole, a more suitable wood 
than any other. Hickory is excellent, but is said 
to be more brittle than ash, and is also heavier. 
It is, however, but little heavier than the best 
ash, for in the latter wood lightness means bad 
quality. The wood must be well seasoned, and 
as free as possible from knots, especially near the 
bend and the binding, though small knots which 
do not extend through the whole thickness of the 
ski cannot do much harm. 

The grain of the wood should be wide and 
well marked. The way it runs in the ski is most 
important ; it should run parallel with the long 
axis of the ski throughout its length, above all 
at the front bend and the binding; for if the 
grain run out at these points, the ski will be very 
liable to break there. If anywhere else the grain 
runs out at all, see that it does so in such a way 

that the lines on the side of the ski run back- 

23 



24 



HOW TO SKI 



wards and downwards (Fig. 1, a), not forwards 
and downwards (Fig. 1, b). 

If the lines of grain on the sole of the ski 
run across at all instead of parallel to the sides, 
the ski, when it gets rather worn, will not run 
straight. If, of a pair of skis, one runs to the 
right and one to the left, it does not much matter. 



3 



^^^^^^ 



Fig. 1. 

Cross-grain ; In A it does not much matter, as it only occurs at some 
distance from the binding and points backwards ; b is very bad. 

for in that case the former can be put on the left 
foot and the latter on the right ; they will then 
merely keep together and hold each other 
straight. 

But if both skis run off to the same side there 
is nothing to be done, so look carefully at the 
grain of the sole when choosing them, to see that 
there is no chance of this (Fig. 2). 

There is one more point to be noticed about 
the arrangement of the grain in the ski. 



HOW TO SKI 



25 



If you look at the heel end of the ski, you will 
generally see the grain disposed in vertical lines, 
as in Fig. 3, b. The ski will not only be stronger 




Fig. 2. 

Cross-grain on running surface : A converging, not very serions ; 
B parallel, very bad. 

and more springy, but will wear better and run 
faster if cut so that the grain lies horizontally 
(Fig. 3, c)/ Fig. 3, A shows a disposition of the 



^ QmnmD 



c 



Fig. 3. 
▲ bad, B good, c still better. 

grain which is likely to weaken the ski and 
should be avoided. 

The colour of a ski is a matter of taste. 

^ Unless, however, this horizontal grain runs very straight 
throughout the ski, the vertical arrangement is the better. 



26 HOW TO SKI 

Dark colours have the disadvantage of causing 
the snow which collects on the top of the ski 
to melt more readily ; it may then refreeze 
and accumulate, forming an unnecessary load 
of ice. 

A dark colour also makes it more difficult to 
detect faults in the grain, and it is wiser for 
this reason to buy plain varnished skis, and colour 
them afterwards if you want them darker. 

New skis should be given several coats of 
boiled linseed oil, each being allowed to sink in 
before the next is applied. When at last the 
wood will absorb no more, give it a coat of raw 
linseed oil; this dries hard, with a surface just 
rough enough for easy climbing, but slippery 
enough to make waxing unnecessary, except for 
the very stickiest snow. The more often skis 
are oiled, even when in use, the better. 

Dimensions. — When you are standing with 
your arm stretched at full length above your 
head, the ski, placed upright, should be at least 
long enough for its tip to reach the roots of 
your fingers ; it may well reach a few inches 
beyond the ^ng^v-ends. 

The longer the ski the pleasanter you will find 
it for straight -running. On a long ski you keep 
your balance more easily, run more smoothly on 



HOW TO SKI 



27 



n^>> 



Fig. 4, 




rough ground, and keep a straight course with 

less trouble. A short ski is slightly easier for 

turning, but if you learn correct methods of 

turning, the difference is insignificant ; and in 

any case, however much you 

may twist and turn, you are 

bound for the greater part of 

the time to be running straight, . '^~r^ , 

and you might as well do so 

as comfortably as possible. 

The ski should be as narrow 
as possible, hardly more than 
2f inches (7 centimetres) at 
the narrowest part — i.e, where 
the foot rests on it — even for 
the biggest man. 

If it measures 2f inches in 
width at the narrowest part, 
it should be about 3f inches 
wide at the front bend, and 
just over 3 inches at the heel. 

A narrow ski is in every 
way better than a wide one ; 
the only object of increasing the width of 
a ski is to make its bearing surface on the 
snow proportionate to the weight of a heavier 
man, and so to prevent it from sinking more 






4-k'"-> 



28 HOW TO SKI 

deeply and therefore running more slowly. 

But this should be done by increasing the length 

rather than the width. 

The beginner usually imagines that the wider 

the ski the more easily he will be able to balance 

on it. This is a great mistake. A narrow ski is 

far steadier than a wide one for straight running ; 

it is easier for turning, and infinitely more com- 
fortable for moving across 
a steep slope of hard snow, 
the diminished leverage 
putting less strain on the 
ankles, as the diagram 
shows.^ 
-J, „ _ The thickness of the 

r IQ. o, 

ski is proportionate to its 
elasticity and the weight of the runner, being 
about IJ inches at the binding and f inch at 
the front bend and the heel. A stiff ski runs 
rather less comfortably than a thinner and more 
flexible one, but it is safer to choose a ski of 
ample thickness near the binding, especially if it 
is to be used for jumping. 

The turn up at the front of the ski should 
begin at about one -fifth of the distance from the 
tip to the heel end. It should he very gradual, 

^ If however with a very narrow ski a very wide-soled boot is 
worn, traversing a steep, hard slope becomes uncomfortable, as the 
projecting sole is then apt to catch in the crust and trip the runner. 




HOW TO SKI 29 

for a sudden bend makes the ski run more slowly 
and far less smoothly. The under side of the tip 
need not be more than five inches above the 
ground. 

There is a slight upward arch between the 
front bend and the heel. It should be no more 
than f of an inch high at its highest point, below 
the heel of the boot, only just sufficient to prevent 
the ski when resting on soft snow from bending 
downwards in the middle under the weight of the 
runner. The height of this arch should therefore 
vary slightly according to the length and stiff- 
ness of the ski, and to the runner's weight. 

Of course any twist in the ski will prevent it 
from running true. A simple way of making sure 
that a ski is free from any such twist is as follows : 
draw a few lines across its sole, at right angles 
to a line down the middle of it, and, holding the 
ski so that a very much fore-shortened view of 
the sole is obtained, see if all these lines are 
parallel. 

Nothing is more uncomfortable and difficult to 
run on than a ski which has become warped and 
has a downward bend in the middle. To prevent 
this happening and to preserve the upward arch, 
a pair of skis, when not in use, should be placed 
sole to sole and bound together at the front bend 
and the heel, with a block of wood about 1| 



30 HOW TO SKI 

inches thick put between them 8 inches or so 
behind the binding, just where the boot-heel rests 
on the ski. 

Most skis are made with a groove running along 
the middle of the sole from the front bend to the 
heel. This groove greatly increases the ski's 
steadiness in straight-running, and on no account 
should be omitted. A smooth-soled ski makes 
turning easier for the runner who has not learnt 
the right way to do it, but this slight advantage 
by no means compensates for the wobbliness in 
straight-running which it entails. If you want 
easy steering, choose extrsi-Jlexihle skis, but not 
grooveless or extra -short ones. 

Most of the ordinary foot-bindings are fixed to 
the ski by means of a hole bored from side to side 
through its thickest part. See that this hole is 
made almost entirely in the upper half of the ski's 
thickness, well away from the sole. When lifted 
by a strap passed through this hole, the ski 
should point downwards at an angle of about 45 
degrees. 

In order that they shall be stronger in relation 
to their weight and less flexible, skis are some- 
times made with a convex, instead of a flat upper- 
surface. The increased stiffness makes them less 
comfortable for ordinary running but safer for 



HOW TO SKI 31 

jumping. The convexity should always stop short 
of the beginning of the front bend. 

Fig. 6 shows that it depends on how this 
convexity is obtained as to whether and how 
it is an advantage or otherwise. Supposing the 
wood in each case to be of exactly the same 
quality, B will obviously be not only stiffer but 



Fig. 6. 

heavier than A, c will be stiffer but no heavier, 
D will be equally stiff but lighter. It is evident, 
then, that one cannot say off-hand that the 
convex shape is either better or worse than the 
flat, but only that, weight for weight, the convex 
shape gives greater stiffness and strength, the flat 
gives more elasticity. 

The Binding. — The question of the binding, by 
which the ski is fastened to the foot, is a very 
vexed one ; I shall treat it as shortly as I can. 



32 HOW TO SKI 

The binding should, if possible, fulfil the follow- 
ing conditions : — 

(1) It should be light ; (2) should be easily ad- 
justed to fit the boot ; (3) should admit of being 
quickly and easily fastened and unfastened ; 
(4) should be difficult to break and easy to 
mend ; (5) should allow fairly free vertical move- 
ment of the foot, but limit its lateral movement 
enough to make steering easy ; (6) should be 
comfortable, and not likely to injure the runner 
in case of a fall. 

There are innumerable forms of binding on the 
market, not one of which is absolutely satisfac- 
tory in every respect ; the choice of a binding 
is largely a matter of taste. But, though it is 
not possible to say that any one binding is the 
best, it is possible to say that certain forms are 
more generally popular than others. The reader 
who is not a novice probably knows all there is 
to be said for and against the more common 
forms ; while to give a long description of several 
kinds of bindings, setting forth their various good 
and bad points, would be more likely to confuse 
a novice than to help him to choose one that 
suited him. I shall therefore describe one binding 
only, the Huitfeldt, which is by far the most 
generally popular one, especially in Norway, and 



HOW TO SKI 33 

shall show how it answers to the above-mentioned 
requirements. 

The Huitfeldt binding (Fig. 7) consists of an 
iron, leather -lined toe -piece which is passed 
through the hole in the ski and bent up at each 
side; a short strap passing over the toes and 
connecting the ends of the metal toe-piece ; and 




Fig. 7. 
Huitfeldt binding, with EUefsen clamp x (left foot). 

a long strap which passes through the hole in 
the ski and round the heel of the boot. 

A third strap, which passes under the waist 
of the boot, prevents the heel-strap from slip- 
ping up the side of the foot, as it is sometimes 
inclined to do when the heel is much raised; 
and a fourth strap, crossing the foot behind the 
toe-strap, prevents the heel-strap from slipping 
under the boot sole at the side. The heel-strap, 
however, will often be found to keep in place 





34 HOW TO SKI 

perfectly without these two straps, or, at any 
rate, without the latter, and in that case there 
is no object in keeping them on the binding. 

The ski is fastened on and taken off without 
buckling or unbuckling the straps when once 
they have been properly adjusted. In order to 
put on the ski, simply push the foot well home 
between the toe-irons, and then pull the heel- 
strap up over the boot-heel. 

The toe-strap may be quite loose; the heel- 
strap must be so tight that it is only just pos- 
sible to force it over the boot-heel. 

The toe-irons must be hammered or bent (a 
heavy screw-wrench is useful for this) to fit the 
sole of the boot exactly, so that when the boot 
is pushed home between them the centre of the 
heel lies in the very middle of the ski. This 
means that for boots of an ordinary shape the 
inside toe-iron must be more nearly parallel to 
the side of the ski than the outside one, as in 
diagram; otherwise the boot-heel will rest on 
the inner side of the ski (Fig. 8). 

If the toe-irons show any tendency to wobble, 
small wooden wedges may be driven between 
them and the side of the cavity in the ski, but 
by the sides of the toe-irons, not bdow them, 
or the ski may split. 



HOW TO SKI 



35 






3 






The toe-irons should be so adjusted that when 
the boot is pushed right home the toe only pro- 
jects a little way beyond the toe-strap (see Fig. 
7). If the toe-strap crosses the foot too far back, 
it does not allow a free 
enough movement when 
the heel is raised, and 
in a fall forward may 
sprain the foot. 

If the fastening fits 
properly there should be 
enough freedom to allow 
the knee just to touch 
the front of the ski. 

In order to prevent 
the heel-strap from slip- 
ping off the boot, the heel of the boot should 
be made to project at the back, both top and 
bottom of the projection being rounded to allow 
of the strap being easily pulled on and off (see 
Fig. 9, p. 41). This is a better and a simpler 
arrangement than the strap and buckle at the 
back of the heel with which ski-boots are often 
fitted. 

The heel-strap should be bent first downwards 
and then backwards on each side of the ski, so 
that the side of it which is uppermost within 



FiG. 8. 



A A right, B B wrong positions 
for toe-irons (left ski). 



36 HOW TO SKI 

the cavity of the ski becomes outermost round 
the foot. This arrangement increases the tension 
when the heel rises. 

It is most important that the heel-strap should 
be very tight, for its tension not only limits 
the vertical movement of the foot, and so makes 
it possible to lift the heel of the ski, but also, 
by keeping the boot firmly jammed between 
the toe-irons, prevents nearly all lateral move- 
ment, and so makes steering easy. 

The heel- strap consists of two parts ; the back 
part should be fitted with a metal lever called 
''The EUefsen Shortening Clamp" (Fig. 7, x). 
Opening and closing this lever lengthens and 
shortens the heel-strap ; the strap is buckled 
so that with the lever open it will just pass 
over the projection on the boot-heel ; it can be 
thoroughly tightened up, when on, by the closing 
of the lever. 

This lever should be so fitted on the heel- 
strap that it comes on the outside of the heel 
near the back. 

The advantages of the Huitfeldt binding are 
as follows : — 

It is very light. If fitted with the shorten- 
ing lever it can be put on and taken off* in a 
second or two. It is not easily broken, and is 



HOW TO SKI 37 

not difficult to mend. If properly fitted, it limits 
the movement of the foot enough to give ample 
steering power. It is quite comfortable, and is 
most unlikely to injure the foot even in the worst 
fall. 

Its disadvantages are that great care is needed 
to adjust the toe-irons so as exactly to fit the 
boot, and keep it in the middle of the ski ; and 
that the heel-strap is rather quickly worn at 
the points where it rubs against the edges of 
the toe-irons. This wearing, however, can be 
diminished by filing down the sharp edges of 
the toe-iron where they touch the strap, and by 
occasionally pulling the strap through the hole 
in the ski far enough to expose another part 
of it to the friction. 

Another slight drawback lies in the fact 
that the heel-strap, where it projects on each 
side of the ski, diminishes the speed somewhat 
by brushing against the snow ; but this is hardly 
worth mentioning. 

On the whole, then, the Huitfeldt binding has 
more good points than bad ones, and is just as 
likely to suit the beginner permanently as any 
of the other bindings, if he is obliged to buy 
his skis at the outset. 

If he is able to try two or three different bind- 



38 HOW TO SKI 

ings before making his choice, he no doubt will 
do so; but it is not likely that he will fully 
understand the pros and cons of any good bind- 
ing until he has given it a longish trial, and has 
a fair practical knowledge of ski-running. 

In any case, I strongly advise him not to 
worry too much on the subject of bindings. 
With all, except the very worst and least widely 
used bindings, it is possible to learn to ski well, 
provided they Jit properly. 

He should be careful to see that the middle 
of the heel rests naturally on the middle of the 
ski; that the foot has enough vertical freedom 
to allow the knee just to touch the ski in front, 
but not enough to allow it to touch without 
considerable tension ; and that the lateral move- 
ment of the foot is very limited. If these 
conditions are fulfilled, the binding will be com- 
fortable, safe, and will give ample steering 
power. 

In the Huitfeldt binding and several others 
of the same type, the steering power and control 
of the ski is obtained by the tension between 
the heel-strap and toe-irons. There is another 
type in which this power is obtained by a false 
sole, generally made of driving-belting, which 
is fixed to the ski under the toe of the boot 
and is free at the heel end. This system gives 



HOW TO SKI 39 

greater, or even absolute lateral rigidity, and 
is therefore more likely to injure the foot. 

The most widely used forms of this type of 
binding are the Ellefsen, a very good binding; 
the Black Forest or Balata binding, in which the 
false sole is fitted with a socket for the heel, a 
great favourite with shopkeepers who hire out 
skis, because, without adjustment, it will fit any- 
one somehow — generally badly ; and the Lilien- 
feld binding, an Austrian invention, made almost 
completely of metal, and giving absolute lateral 
rigidity, but unsuitable for jumping and disliked 
by most good runners/ Absolute lateral rigidity 
is not only dangerous, but is quite unnecessary 
for a runner who has learnt, or who means to 
learn, correct methods. For in braking or steer- 
ing, when properly done, the effect is produced 
by the distribution of the weight, and by vertical 
pressure on the ski rather than by forcibly twist- 
ing or pushing it sideways. 

With any binding on the Huitfeldt principle it 
is necessary to wear a boot with a wide- welted 
sole which is double throughout its length, in 
order that it may not buckle at the waist of the 
foot under the strain of the heel-strap. 

The part of the ski on which the foot rests 

1 The Bilgeri binding, a development of the Lilienfeld, is lighter 
and less rigid. 



40 HOW TO SKI 

should be covered by a thin plate of some such 
metal as brass or tin, which does not oxidise 
readily. This protects the ski if nailed boots 
are worn, and prevents snow from accumulating 
in an uncomfortable lump under the foot. If the 
boots have no nails, or if the binding has a false 
sole, a plate of celluloid or linoleum is sufficient. 

The Stick. — The ski-runner carries either one 
or two sticks. He uses them to increase his pace 
on level ground, or when running down a gentle 
slope ; to help him in walking uphill ; to steady 
him when turning while standing on a slope ; 
and possibly, on very rare occasions, to help to 
check his pace. 

To use them while on the move, either as a 
help to the balance or for steering, is the mark 
of a bad runner. 

The sticks (for two are more useful than one) 
should be light ; cane or hazel is the usual wood. 
They should be long enough to reach two or 
three inches above the elbow, when resting on 
the snow. 

At the top the stick is provided with a leather 
loop to support the hand while punting. At the 
other end it is shod with a metal spike, a few 
inches above which a movable disc, generally 
made of wicker, is attached to prevent the stick 



HOW TO SKI 41 

from sinking into the snow. Choose some disc 
attachment which does not involve the passing of 
a thong through a hole in the stick, for one of 
that sort wears out very soon. 

Clothing 

Boots, — In order to avoid frost-bite, to the 
risk of which the ski-runner is often exposed, the 
boots must be stout, flexible, waterproof, and 
exceedingly loose — large enough, in fact, to hold 
two pairs, at any rate, of the very thickest stock- 
ings without the least pressure, especially on the 
toes. Boots made on the Norwegian "Laupar" 
principle are particu- 
larly good only in the 
respect of giving the 
toes perfect freedom. 

The heel must be 
very low, and, as ex- 
plained above, it should Ym. 9. 

be made to project at Boot showing rounded projection 

the back to prevent the «^ ^«f ^ sole of uniform thick- 

^ ^ ^ ness from toe to beginning of 

heel-strap from slipping heel; and metal plates (x) to 
off, if the binding has P--ent wear of toe-iron. 

one. For a binding of the Huitfeldt type 
the sole must be thick, not only at the ball 
of the foot, but at the waist ; it should have a 




42 HOW TO SKI 

widish welt to prevent the toe-irons from press- 
ing against the foot.^ 

Where the toe-irons touch the side of the sole, 
they are apt to wear a hollow, and the boot then 
works gradually forwards. This can be pre- 
vented by screwing thin plates of metal to the 
side of the sole at this point. To enable the 
toe-irons to hold the boot as steady as possible, 
it is better that the sides of the sole should be 
rather straight (though not parallel) than curved. 

The boots should be greased or oiled often 
enough to keep them quite soft and flexible. 

Some form of felt or canvas boot-cover is a 
great safeguard against frost-bite, which is a 
danger that can by no means be overrated. 

Whether the boots shall be nailed or not is a 
matter of taste. Nails cut the skis and make the 
snow ball between them and the boots. Boots 
with no nails at all make climbing an icy path on 
foot rather troublesome. If no nails are worn, 
climbing irons can be carried to strap on to the 
boot for walking on icy places. Most people 
wear a few small nails, though many (myself in- 
cluded) wear none. A complete rubber sole 
(which grips on ice but picks up no snow) might 
work even better than the " Scafe" rubber studs ; 
but I know these are good. 

^ No wider a welt, however, than is absolutely necessary. See 
note, p. 28. 



HOW TO SKI 43 

StocHngs, — As I have said, two or three pairs 
of stockings should be worn. However water- 
proof the boot, it is impossible to keep the stock- 
ings perfectly dry owing to the condensation of 
water vapour from the foot which takes place on 
the inner surface of the boot. In severe cold 
this wet layer freezes, and should therefore be 
kept as far as possible from the foot. It is 
useless, however, to fill the boot with stockings 
to such an extent as to cause pressure on the 
foot and check the circulation, for this is even 
more likely to cause frost-bite than is insuffi- 
cient covering. 

Most ski-runners wear a pair of the thickest 
ordinary stockings, or socks, and over this a pair 
of goat's-hair socks which are more than twice 
as thick. These goat's-hair socks (or what are 
generally sold as such) wear badly, and a pair of 
socks of the same thickness, but made of wool, 
seem just as warm. 

Spare socks should always be carried on long 
expeditions in case the pair next the feet should 
get wet through. 

Gloves. — These are an important item. They 
should be of mitten-shape, with a bag for the 
fingers, and should have a gauntlet-shaped arm 
long enough to pull well over the sleeve. Like 



44 HOW TO SKI 

the boots, they must be roomy. Felt or wool 
is the usual material. 

A canvas outer covering makes them less liable 
to get wet through, for the snow sticks to it less. 
It is always difficult, however, to keep them dry, 
and a spare pair is often as necessary as spare 
socks. 

Cap. — Some kind of cap which can at least be 
pulled down over the ears, if not over the neck 
and chin, is indispensable. As an addition or 
substitute, an ample scarf or muffler is useful, 
especially, perhaps, for women. 

No hat-brim protects the eyes sufficiently to be 
the least safeguard against snow-blindness. Dark 
glasses should always be carried, especially above 
the tree-line, and should be put on the instant 
that any discomfort is felt from the glare. 

Outer Clothing. — This should be as nearly 
windproof as possible, and should have a smooth 
surface, for if it be hairy the snow will stick to it, 
and, when that melts, the clothes will become 
soaked. For this reason a sweater is not satis- 
factory as the outermost garment on a long 
expedition. 

Any clothing which cannot be removed during 
a climb should be fairly light and not too hot, 
for climbing is often excessively hot work. 



HOW TO SKI 45 

A moderately stout whipcord is perhaps as good 
a material as anything. 

In order to keep out the snow the collar of a 
coat should be made to button close round the 
neck, and the sleeves round the wrists. 

The pockets should have large flaps to button. 
Most English runners clothe themselves, as to 
the legs, in breeches and puttees, which are a 
very efficient means of keeping out the snow. 
Leather gaiters are useless. 

Until recently most Norwegians used to wear 
rather close - fitting trousers which buttoned 
tightly round the ankles inside the boots, and a 
sort of very short puttee round the tops of the 
boots themselves. For warmth, comfort, and 
simplicity this system seems hard to beat. 

All the foregoing remarks as to boots, stock- 
ings, gloves, caps, and material, of course, apply 
equally to women's clothing. 

Whether in addition to snowproof knicker- 
bockers and puttees a woman shall wear a skirt 
is, of course, a matter of taste or strength of 
mind. In Germany and Austria most lady ski- 
runners dispense with it. 

If a skirt is worn it is particularly important 
that both it and the knickerbockers shall be of 
very smooth texture, otherwise the snow which 



46 HOW TO SKI 

works up between them in a fall will not shake 
out again, but will accumulate in large quantities 
and soak the clothes in melting. 

The shorter the skirt, the better as regards 
comfort. Even a skirt which only just covers the 
knees will touch the snow during manoeuvres 
which involve a semi-kneeling position. 

As to appearance, I can assure any one who 
is distressed at the apparent size of her feet 
and ankles when properly clad that a longish 
skirt makes them far more conspicuous than a 
very short one ; a skirt long enough to hide 
them completely is, of course, out of the question. 
If the thick goat's-hair or woollen oversock goes 
some way up the leg instead of stopping short 
just above the boot, and if the puttee is thin 
and smooth instead of being about half an inch 
thick and woolly, a less gloomy outlook on life 
will perhaps be induced. 

Underclothing. — Climbing a hill on skis is 
generally very hot work, but one is often exposed 
to the most bitter cold on the top, especially 
when the sun is hidden, or when wind and sun- 
shine come from the same quarter, and it is 
impossible to take shelter from the former 
without losing the latter. This makes it very 
difficult to regulate satisfactorily the thickness 



HOW TO SKI 47 

of one's clothing. On the whole, it is perhaps 
better to wear fairly light underclothing, and 
to rely for warmth mainly on outer garments 
which can be carried, instead of worn, during the 
climb. 

If light clothing is worn, two extra sweaters 
or cardigans may well be carried. In this case 
they must never be forgotten, but must be carried 
always^ no matter what the weather may be, for it 
may change quickly without the least warning, 
and, in any case, there is often a bitter wind 
high up when the heat is almost tropical in the 
valley. 

A windproof coat of thin oil-silk or of a kind of 
paper-cloth made by a Paris firm, is a very good 
substitute for a spare sweater. It is warmer, 
lighter, and takes up hardly any space. 

The following things are very useful, some of 
them indispensable on a long expedition. They 
can mostly be bought ready made, and I shall 
not attempt a description where their application 
is obvious. 

Wax, either in a block or a collapsible tube, 
which is used to prevent wet snow from sticking 
to the ski. It is smeared on the ski and rubbed 
in with a rag. It is better, if possible, to do 



48 HOW TO SKI 

this before starting out ; or, at any rate, to 
dry the ski first. 
A good knife. 

Some blunt instrument for scraping ice off the 
ski without injuring the wood. 

A metal ski-tip to fit on the ski, if the point 
is broken off and lost. A few tools for mending 
a broken ski — gimlet, screw-driver, and punch 
(unless the knife is fitted with these) ; perhaps 
also a hammer, saw, and file. Small cases of tools 
with a common handle can be bought. 

One or two small steel plates and pieces of 
sheet brass or zinc with holes bored in them, and 

a few screws to fit 
them; or a clamp ^ 
consisting of two 
metal plates con- 
nected by two bolts 
with wing-nuts. 

Fig. 10 shows how 
these may be used to 

Ski mended with (a) metal plates, ^^^^ ^ broken ski. 
(b) clamp. 

Spare parts of the 
binding itself may be carried in case it breaks, 
and a thong of raw hide about two yards long, 
with a loop at one end, is often useful. 

1 Sold as " griffe Norv^gienne." 




Fig. 10. 




HOW TO SKI 49 

This thong, when used as a substitute for the 
Huitfeldt heel-strap, constitutes what is known 
as the Lapp binding. This is a most firm and 
comfortable binding, especially for jumping, but 
since it cannot be adjusted quickly nor with 
gloved hands, is unsuitable for occasions which 
involve frequent taking 
ofi and putting on of 
the skis, or exposure to 
extreme cold. 

Fig. 11 explains the 

arrane^ement of the 

^ Fig. 11. 

thong. 

When arranged as above so that it passes 
twice round the heel of the boot, the thong is 
hauled perfectly taut and made fast. 

This can be done in slightly different ways ; 
I find the following a satisfactory one. Arrange 
the thong so that, when it is pulled tight, the 
points A B are about an inch in front of the heel 
of the boot, the loop A being on the outside of 
the foot. Then pass the free end under the 
waist of the foot, up across the thongs on the 
inner side, over the instep, and back to A, 
finishing with a half-hitch round both parts 
of the thong at A. If this half-hitch is made 
with the end of the thong pushed through it in 



50 HOW TO SKI 

a bight, it can be pulled undone like a bow, 
which is an advantage when the thong is frozen 
hard. 

A few yards of strong cord, some string, and 
some brass wire are often useful. 

A ski may be prevented from slipping back- 
wards in hill-climbing by tying one end of a 
piece of cord to its tip, passing a few half hitches 
round it at intervals, hauling all taut, and tying 
the other end of the cord to the binding. This, 
however, makes it necessary to lift the ski for- 
ward at each step instead of sliding it. 

The only satisfactory preventive of back-slip 
is a strip of sealskin fastened underneath the ski ; 
this also prevents wet snow from sticking to the 
ski, as it sometimes does in masses almost too 
heavy to lift. To prevent back-slip a strip half 
the length of the ski is sufficient ; for sticky 
snow, however, it is of course better for the ski 
to be quite covered. Which of the many forms 
of detachable sealskin in the market work the 
best I am not competent to say, having so far 
managed to do without it. There is no doubt 
that sealskin is a great labour saver. With its 
help it is possible to climb so much more quickly 
than without, that for long mountain tours it is 
almost indispensable. Moreover, when it is used 



HOW TO SKI 51 

for the climb, the soles of the skis can be kept 
polished or varnished to a degree of slipperiness 
that prevents even the worst of sticky snow from 
being much hindrance during the run down. 

The rucksack, in which these things, spare 
clothing, food, &c., are carried, should be very- 
large, snowproof,' and strong, but not heavy. 
Its straps should be wide at the shoulder and 
long. 

About food, or the special equipment neces- 
sary for mountaineering, or any other special 
application of ski-running, I shall not attempt 
to speak, this book being only concerned with 
what is absolutely necessary to the ski-runner 
qu& ski-runner. 

Those who wish for further information will find 
it in a vast number of books on mountaineering 
proper, in Eickmers' " Ski-ing for Beginners and 
Mountaineers," Eichardson's " The Ski-Eunner," 
Arnold Lunn's Alpine Ski Club Guide-books, and 
in many books in other languages on ski-running 
and kindred subjects; for instance, ''Der Ski- 
lauf," by Paulcke (of which a French translation, 
"Manuel de Ski," is published), and Bilgeri's 
" Alpine Ski-lauf." 



THE MANAGEMENT OF THE SKIS 



ON THE LEVEL AND UPHILL 



Putting on SJcis, — Lay the skis side by side 

on the snow. 

In order to put on the right ski, place the 

left foot on it just behind the binding as in Fig. 

12, the toe of the boot being on the left side 
of the ski and the heel on the 
right. Your weight then holds 
the ski steady while you push 
the right foot well home and 
fasten the binding. Now lift the 
right foot and ski, stand them on 
the left ski in a similar way, and 
fasten that to the foot. 

On a hill-side lay the skis 
across the slope ; stand below 
them, and put on the lower ski 
first, bringing the foot to it across 

the front of the other leg. 

On the Level, — The ski-runner moves on the 

level with an action much like that of ordinary 

53 




FlQ. 12. 



HOW TO SKI 53 

walking, except that he does not lift his skis 
from the snow, hut slides them along it. 

Hold your skis exactly parallel and as close 
together as possible — not more than two inches 
apart — and take a long, easy, lunging step, keep- 
ing the knee of the advancing leg well over the 
foot, and leaning the body well forwards (Plate I.). 

Move the stick, or sticks, in time with the 
opposite leg, giving a push at each, or at every 
alternate stride, according as you carry two sticks 
or one. 

Slide as far as you can after the advanced foot 
has received the weight, and don't be in a hurry 
to bring forward the other one. 

The body must be swayed slightly from side 
to side with each step in order to balance it 
well over the ski which carries the weight. 

If you wish to get up the greatest possible speed 
on the level with two sticks, take three running 
— not sliding — steps, swinging the sticks forwards 
with the first two, and, at the third, giving a 
push with both sticks, followed by a long slide. 

Then do the same again, starting with the 
other foot. 

Uphill. — If the gradient is very slight, you 
can slide straight uphill in just the same way 
as on the level. 



54 HOW TO SKI 

At a rather steeper gradient (the angle de- 
pending on the sUpperiness of the snow and 
the skis) you will still be able to move in the 
same way, but without the extra forward slide 
after the weight has come on to the advanced ski. 

If the slope becomes still steeper you will find 
that the friction is hardly enough to make the 
skis hold. The moment you feel they have a 
tendency to slip backwards as the weight comes 
on them, walk as upright as possible, even leaning 
slightly backwards, so as to bring the weight on 
the heels and throw a little tension on the toe- 
strap. Shorten your stride, and, instead of sliding 
the skis along the snow, lift their points six inches 
or so into the air as you move them forwards (but 
do not let their heel ends leave the snow), and 
bring them down again in front of you with a 
gentle but decided stamp. 

In making this stamping movement, take care, 
as you bring the foot to the ground, to stamp it 
in a direction exactly at right angles to the 
surface of the slope. The least suspicion of 
pawing backwards, or lunging forwards, as the 
ski touches the snow is sure to make it slip. 

By moving steadily and carefully in this way 
it is possible to walk up an appreciably steeper 
gradient than the one at which the skis first 




On the level.— (I 




Stopping a back-slip. — (ii.) 



HOW TO SKI 55 

show a tendency to slip back. But it is no 
use attempting to struggle or hurry ; no amount 
of effort will help you, and if you cannot do it 
easily you cannot do it at all. 

If the gradient becomes any steeper than 
this — and except in the worst conditions of 
sticky snow, the slope will still be quite gentle, 
the skis will slip backwards in spite of all your 
care. At the first sudden and unexpected back- 
slip instinct will prompt you to throw yourself 
forward, strike out with the back foot, and make 
a sort of pawing movement with the advanced 
one. If you do this, your skis will slip from 
under you and you will fall on your nose. Do 
nothing of the sort, therefore, but the moment 
the ski slips lean right backwards, with a free 
swing of the body, at the same time lifting the 
slipping ski quickly round behind the heel of, and 
to right angles with, the other ski, to stop you 
(Plate II. p. 54). To proceed as before being 
now impossible, you have the choice of three 
different methods : zigzagging, herring-boning, 
and side-stepping. 

Zigzagging, — Turn more or less sideways to 
the hill and then move forwards at a gradient 
just easy enough to prevent back-slipping. The 
skis are held as close together as possible, and 



56 HOW TO SKI 

moved just as before ; but now, instead of being 
'*flat" to the surface of the snow, they are 
** edged " (cutting more deeply into it with the 
edges which are nearest the hill) and one ski is 
more or less above the other, according to the 
steepness of the slope. 

If the surface is very hard and icy, and the 
skis cut in very little, less than half their 
width may rest on the snow. In order to 
lessen the muscular effort then needed to hold 
the ankles vertical (see p. 28) press both hnees, 
especially the lower one, well over towards the 
hiU. 

Hold the sticks in each hand, and use them 
just as before, no matter how steep the slope. 
If the slope be very steep, the stick on the 
uphill side can be held shorter, but the two 
sticks should never (except on a dangerous 
slope) be put together and held across the 
body with both hands, as a climber holds his 
ice-axe. To do so will only get you into a bad 
habit of leaning towards the hill and supporting 
yourself with the stick, and will prevent you 
from balancing yourself properly and walking 
freely. 

If only one stick be used, it should be carried 
in the hand which is nearest the hill. 



HOW TO SKI 57 

If a steep slope is so hard and slippery that no- 
thing will make the edges of the skis grip, hold 
the point of each stick close against the downhill 
side of each foot, move the sticks exactly in unison 
with the feet, and dig their points hard into 
the crust at each step. This gives a perfectly 
firm support for the skis and answers the pur- 
pose of climbing-irons. It is, however, very 
seldom necessary. 

Having found the steepest gradient which you 
can negotiate without back-slipping, so adjust 
your course across the hill that this gradient re- 
mains constant. That is to say, if you come to 
a spot which is steeper — no matter how slightly^ 
or for how short a distance — don't dream of 
trying to move on to it without altering your 
course ; but instantly turn more sideways to 
the hill, so that although the direction of your 
course is altered its gradient remains the same 
as before. By this means only will you avoid 
falling on your nose, or, at any rate, strug- 
gling and slipping uselessly. 

Nothing is more common than to see a be- 
ginner making frantic efforts to cross a short 
bit of steeper ground without altering his course. 
He could attempt nothing more hopeless. 

It is amazing how many exhausting struggles 



58 



HOW TO SKI 



and falls are usually needed to impress on a 
learner the fact that it is utterly impossible for 
him to advance even one single step on steeper 
ground — however slight the diflPerence in gradient 
may be — without altering his course. 

Of course if the slope becomes less steep, you 




Fig. 13, 



turn less sideways to the hill and mount it more 
directly. 

The diagram will, perhaps, help to explain the 
proper way of moving uphill across ground of 
varying gradient. 

It represents a slope with a steep-sided gully 
running down it. The conformation of the 
ground is indicated by contour lines, as in a 
map — i.e, imaginary horizontal lines running 



HOW TO SKI 59 

along the side of the hill, with the same vertical 
distance between each pair. Where, then, the 
contour lines in the plan are far apart the slope 
is gradual, and vice versa. 

Since the direction of the fall of the slope is 
everywhere at right angles with that of the contour 
lines, its general direction only is shown by the 
arrow ; at either side of the gully its local direction 
is, of course, nearly at right angles to this. 

AB is the track of an experienced ski-runner. 
Observe that (i) in general shape the line AB 
resembles the contour lines ; (ii) it never cuts the 
same contour twice ; (iii) when the contours are 
far apart it cuts them at a blunter angle than 
when they are close together. In other words, 
the expert (i) makes a detour at the gully ; (ii) 
never loses any height that he has once gained ; 
(iii) moves steadily uphill at a constant gradient, 
facing the hill more directly where it is less steep, 
and vice versa. 

AC is the track of a beginner. Trying to cut 
across directly towards B he runs downhill into 
the gully, but, being of course unable to climb 
straight up the steep slope on the far side in the 
direction of B, he has to bear away to the right ; 
and at C, when his track from A is quite as long 
as the expert's at B, he is not nearly so far up 
the hill. 



6o HOW TO SKI 

Remember that the variation of contour needs 
just as careful attention in its smallest details 
as in its main features, and must be negotiated 
in exactly the same way. In climbing in this 
way it is, of course, impossible to go on continu- 
ally keeping the same side to the slope (unless 
the hill is perfectly conical in shape and quite 
free from obstacles, allowing one to wind round 
it to the top in a spiral). Having moved in 
one direction for a time, you will eventually 
have to turn round and begin a fresh tack. 

To shuffle round, as you might do on the level, 
is obviously impossible ; for, whether you do so 
facing up or downhill, the skis will at a certain 
angle begin to run away. 

The usual procedure is to make what is known 
as a kick-turn. 

The Kick' Turn, — Suppose that you have been 
traversing the slope with the hill on your right 
side and wish to make a fresh tack. Stop with 
your skis pointing uphill at the angle at which 
they have just been moving, and your sticks 
resting close to each foot. Then put your weight 
on the lower ski, and draw back the other, slightly 
bending the upper knee and raising the heel (Plate 
III.). Now swing your right leg from the hip 
vigorously forwards and upwards, straightening 



HOW TO SKI 6i 

it completely as it rises, and turning up the toe 
as hard as you can, as though trying to make a 
very high kick. The leg must he swung freely ^ 
not merely lifted. The result of this movement, 
if made with confidence, will be to bring the ski 
to an upright position with its heel resting in 
the snow close to the bend of the other (Plate 
IV.). If there is any hesitation, the knee is sure 
to remain bent, and the toe to point forward, 
the result of which will be that the heel of the 
ski will catch in the snow before it has moved 
far enough to the front. 

The position in Plate IV. is only momentary. 
As soon as the ski is standing on end in the 
snow swing its point round to the right and down- 
wards, until the whole ski again rests on the snow, 
pointing uphill in the opposite direction, but at 
the same angle as before (Plate V.). During 
this movement the heel of the right ski remains 
in the snow where it was placed at first, and 
acts as a pivot. The steeper and more slippery 
the slope, and the less directly you have there- 
fore been climbing it, the narrower, obviously, 
will have to be the angle between the skis in the 
position of Plate V., but, if your joints are nor- 
mally supple, it is .only on very steep or icy 
slopes, when the skis have to be brought 



62 HOW TO SKI 

nearly parallel, that you will find it much of a 
strain to turn your feet and knees far enough 
outwards. 

Next shift the whole weight over on to the 
upper leg, at the same time straightening it and 
letting the other hang slightly bent ; this move- 
ment will lift the lower ski and stick just off the 
snow (Plate VI.). Then straightening the left 
knee and turning up the toe as hard as possible 
(Plate VII., a), face towards the point of the right 
ski and bring the left ski round to the side of 
it (Plate VIII.). This time, however, make no 
attempt to kick or swing the leg, as you did in 
turning the right ski, but keep the left foot quite 
close to the right as it moves round it. The only 
difficulty here is to keep the point of the ski 
from catching in the slope above you as it turns. 
On a very steep slope, in order to avoid this, 
you will have to change from the position of 
Plate VI. to that of Plate VIII. very quickly, 
straightening the left knee and turning up the 
toe with a sudden jerk as you do so, and also 
lifting the left hip as much as you can. This 
will for a moment throw up the point of the 
left ski much higher than if the movement were 
made slowly. But if you try to lift the whole ski 
high above the snow with knee bent and toe 



HOW TO SKI 63 

dropped, or to swing the left leg away from 
the other, the point is nearly certain to catch 
(Plate VII., b). 

The left stick is moved round with the left ski, 
but the point of the other stays in the same 
place throughout the turn ; when only one stick 
is carried it should, therefore, be held in the 
hand which, before the turn, is the uphill one. 
The sticks of course help to steady you, but you 
should be able to turn without any stick in your 
hand, and should learn to do so as soon as you can. 

Having reached the position of Plate VIII., 
you can, of course, begin a fresh tack, at the end 
of which you can make another kick-turn by 
reversing the words right and left in these 
directions. 

The kick-turn, as I have described it, is made 
with three distinct pauses at the positions of Plates 
IV., v., and VI. Instead, however, of starting 
the turn by standing the upper ski on end and 
using its heel as a pivot, it is quite possible to 
do so by just lifting it far enough for its heel 
to clear the front of the standing leg, turning it 
in the air, and bringing it directly to its final 
position on the snow in one continuous move- 
ment. By then lifting the lower ski the instant 
the other comes to rest, and turning it without 



64 HOW TO SKI 

any preliminary pause, you can make the whole 
kick- turn so quickly that you hardly come to a 
standstill between one tack and the next. On 
a steep slope, however, it is always safer to begin 
by standing the upper ski on end before turning 
it, as otherwise its point is apt to catch in the snow 
before it has reached the proper new position. 

There is another very convenient modification 
of the kick-turn which can be performed with- 
out coming to a standstill at all. 

As you come to the end of a tack with, say, 
your left side to the hill, take a long step for- 
ward with your right foot, placing the right ski 
in front of the other one, pointing it uphill as 
much as you can and edging it inwards (Fig. 14, 1), 
Then, throwing the weight momentarily against 
the right ski rather than on it (for if you actually 
stand on it it will slip backwards), take a wide 
step round to the left with the left ski, putting 
it down so that it points as nearly as possible 
in the direction of the new tack you are about 
to start, with its heel quite close to the heel 
of the other ski (Fig. 14, 2), As the left ski 
comes to the snow, bring the right ski round 
beside it (Fig. 14, S) and walk on in the new 
direction. The whole process must be carried 
out quickly and accurately, for if there is any 



HOW TO SKI 



6S 



hesitation about the first two steps you are almost 
sure to sHp backwards and fall on your nose. 
It is, however, really very easy, except on the 
steepest slopes, and is a great saving of time. 
The position in the middle of the turn is much 
the same as in " Herring-boning," described later 



'^^ 




Fig, 14. 

(see Plate IX.). The sticks must be held up 
out of the way of the skis. 

Another way of making the kick-turn is to go 
backwards through the whole process first de- 
scribed. After finishing a tack to the right, 
for instance, you can move successively through 
the positions of Plates VII., A, VI., and V., and 
then lift the upper ski round to the position of 
Plate III. By turning in this way, however, 

E 



66 



HOW TO SKI 



you lose a little height instead of gaining it ; 
this method is, therefore, rather more suitable 
for descending a hill in zigzags than for 
climbing it. 

All the above ways of turning are known as 
uphill turns because one faces the hill during 
the process ; it is also possible to make the kick- 
turn facing downhill by turning the lower ski 




Fig. 15. 

Downhill kick-turn. 



first. In order to prevent strain in the inter- 
mediate position, this downhill turn should be 
both started and finished with the skis pointing 
downwards as much as possible (Fig. 15); this 
makes it particularly convenient for joining two 
downhill tacks. It can also, of course, be made 
backwards as well as forwards, with a slight con- 
sequent gain instead of a loss of height. In a 
downhill kick-turn the skis have more room to 
move freely, but the balance is much less steady 



HOW TO SKI 67 

than if one faces the hill. On the whole, the 
forward uphill turn first described is far the most 
useful, but when you want to turn in cramped 
corners, among trees and the like, you will 
find it a great help to know several ways of 
doing it. 

Although, as I have said, the skis need never 
be quite parallel at the middle stage of the turn, 
you must take great care to bring the first ski 
far enough round to prevent the least chance of 
its slipping. On a steep or icy slope, where the 
skis at this stage must be brought nearly parallel, 
the kick-turn becomes dijSScult for the stiff- 
jointed ; I have even known two cases in which 
it was apparently impossible. If, as is highly 
unlikely, your case is similar, you can always roll 
round on your back with your skis in the air — a 
simple but snowy process. 

If you dislike this, and if, though the joints of 
your legs are stiff, the muscles are strong and 
active (a not unusual combination), you can as 
a last resource jump round, facing downhill 
as you turn. The main difficulty in this is to 
prevent the heels of the skis from catching in the 
slope when half-way round, and the best way to 
prevent them doing so is to jump as hard as pos- 
sible not directly upwards, but out from the hill, 



68 



HOW TO SKI 



so as to land below where you take off. In order 
to bring round the skis close beside each other, 
press the hiees together throughout the jump. 
Hold the sticks near their middles, and jump 
from the toes, not the flat of the foot, with a free 
swinging action, not a hurried jerky one. This 




Fl(J. 16. 

Zigzagging without turning. 

jump needs little skill and is easy enough on a 
moderate slope, but on a steep one becomes very 
hard work, for there the skis have less room to 
turn, and a powerful spring is necessary. The 
jump round, therefore, being most difficult under 
the same conditions as the kick -turn, and much 
more tiring, is hardly a satisfactory substitute 




Herring-boning. — (ix.) 




Side-stepping.- (X.) 










li i 



if 



til 



ii 



Uvil 



H.B., Herring-boning; K., Kick-turn; s., Side-stepping; 

H.S., Half-side-stepping. — (xa.) 

(Uphill track showing application of various methods of hill-climbing.) 



HOW TO SKI 69 

for it ; I only mention it as a perfectly possible 
one. 

The accompanying diagram, which is practi- 
cally the same as one in Mr. Richardson's book, 
'' The Ski-Runner," shows how, by walking 
alternately backwards and forwards, one can 
climb a steep passage, just wide enough to allow 
zigzagging, without wasting time in turning 
at the end of each tack. A description is 
unnecessary. It is, of course, possible to make 
the tacks of any length, but the number of 
steps in each must always be an even one, as 
the tack must be started with the upper foot and 
finished with the lower. 

Half Side-stepping. — In tacking uphill among 
obstacles you may want to traverse at an angle 
so steep that the skis would back-slip if you tried 
to move straight forward in the ordinary way. 
You will then have to step sideways as well as 
forwards with each ski, the upper one starting 
the process and the lower one being drawn up to 
it, and then advanced. Fig. 17, A, shows the 
track that will be left. 

This must of course be done without pointing 
the skis uphill more steeply than the angle at 
which they could traverse in the ordinary way. 
In lifting the upper ski sideways you are sure at 



70 



HOW TO SKI 



first to point it uphill too much (Fig. 17, B 3), 
when, if it does not slip back at once, you will 
tread on it with the heel of the lower ski at the 
next step (Fig. 17, b ^). To avoid this, do your 
best at first to place the upper ski horizontally 
across the slope, lifting its heel well upwards and 
away from the other, pointing the foot down- 




^eol-°^^^ 



Fig. 17. 
Half side-stepping ; A right, B wrong. 

wards and inwards, and turning your body so as 
to face a little downhill. 

On open ground, if the snow is so slippery 
that the gradient of an ordinary straightforward 
traverse has to be very slight indeed, this half 
side-stepping can be used simply to save time. 
Especial care must then be taken to place the 
upper ski nearly horizontally. Half side-stepping 
can be kept up for a long time without difiiculty ; 
but it is more tiring than ordinary straightfor- 



HOW TO SKI 71 

ward traversing, and I think it is a waste of 
energy to employ it constantly when there is no 
special reason for it, as some runners are fond 
of doing. 

Side-stepping. — It is, of course, also possible to 
side-step directly uphill with the skis quite hori- 
zontal, as in Fig. 18, — 7. 



but this, though very / 

easy, is such a tiresome — 

process that it is seldom R' " ' — 

used except in narrow fig. is. 

passages where there is Side-stepping. 

room for nothing else, or for climbing short 

slopes that are very steep and icy. 

Herring -honing (Plate IX.). — This is the quick- 
est but far the most tiring way of going straight 
up a steep slope. Stand with skis together 
pointing as much uphill as they can without 
slipping. Lift the upper ski, and, keeping the 
feet close together, turn it until it points across 
the hill in the opposite direction, but at the same 
angle as before, with its heel across that of the 
other. Then slide it forwards until it just clears 
the lower one ; stand up on it and draw up the 
lower foot so that the skis are again crossed at 
the back at the same angle as before, but with 
the hitherto lower ski uppermost. You can now 



72 



HOW TO SKI 



take a new step in the other direction, and so on/ 
Fig. 19 shows the track. The steeper the slope 
the wider must be the angle between the skis 
to prevent them from slipping back, but you can 
always, if you find it difficult 
to turn the feet enough out- 
wards, point the skis uphill 
more steeply than would 
otherwise be possible, by 
simply throwing the weight 
momentarily against rather 
than on to each ski (see 
p. 65), and keeping the feet 
well apart the whole time 
instead of bringing them to- 
gether between each step. 
But though this is a quicker 
method, it is a still more 
tiring one than the first. 
If the slope is steep, herring-boning is too ex- 
hausting to be kept up for more than a short 
time by anyone but a trained athlete, but on a 
gradient which will allow the skis to diverge at 
only a slight angle it is easy enough. 

Getting up from a Fall. — If during any of 

1 For the above method of herring-boning I am indebted, through 
Mr. Rickmers, to Herr Zdarsky. 




Fig. 19. 
Herring-boning. 



HOW TO SKI 73 

these manoeuvres you should fall down, you may 
find some difficulty in getting up again. 

The first problem is to disentangle the skis, 
if they have become jammed in a complicated 
position. 

The best way to do this is generally to begin 
by moving your body as far away from them 
as possible. If, for instance, you have fallen 
with your head downhill, wriggle yourself still 
farther downhill. Next lift your skis into the 
air, either by rolling on your back and raising 
the legs from the hips, or by rolling on to 
your face and bending the legs backwards from 
the knees. It is generally possible to free the 
skis in this way, but occasionally one cannot 
move without unfastening them first. 

Having freed them, place them parallel in the 
air, and roll round on your side so as to bring 
them to the snow on the downhill side of you 
and exactly at right angles to the fall of the 
slope. 

This is important, for, if they are pointing 
either up or down hill, they will, of course, begin 
to slip the moment you put your weight on 
them. 

If they are quite level, and your feet are 
exactly below your body, you have merely to 



74 HOW TO SKI 

push yourself up with the arm which is under- 
neath you and stand erect. If you want to 
help yourself up with your stick, do not poke 
it vertically into the snow and try to climb 
up it, for if the snow is deep and soft you 
will only plunge it farther in without getting 
any resistance. Lay it horizontally on the snow, 
and it will then give you enough purchase to 
push up from. 

On level ground it is harder to get up again 
than on a hill side, owing to the difficulty of 
getting the skis underneath one in order to get 
to one's feet. After freeing them and placing 
them parallel, lie on your side, draw your knees 
as close to your chest, and your feet as close 
to your thighs as you can, lay your stick flat 
under your side, and, with a vigorous push on 
it, you ought to be able to get your weight 
over the skis and stand up. 

Never hurry, or try to struggle frantically 
to your feet without any definite method. You 
will merely exhaust yourself. It is impossible, 
as a rule, to get up without going through the 
various manoeuvres that I have described, but 
these take a very short time if they are per- 
formed smartly and accurately. 



PRINCIPLES OF STEERING 75 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF STEERING, Etc. 

This chapter is mildly theoretical, and may be 
skipped by the reader who believes in nothing 
that is not, in the ordinary sense of the word, 
practical ; for in it he will find no definite in- 
structions, but only a description of the be- 
haviour, under different conditions, of the skis 
when in motion, and an attempt at an explana- 
tion of it. 

I advise him, however, to try to read it, for 
I think that what I have to say here is, in a 
broad sense, strictly practical. I am convinced 
at any rate, that if, when I began ski-ing, some 
one had given me the information which I am 
about to try to impart, and which, for the most 
part, I have slowly collected for myself, I could 
have reached in a month the very moderate 
degree of skill which it has taken me five seasons 
or so to arrive at. 

If the reader can thoroughly grasp the few 
facts with which this chapter is concerned — and 
he can take my word for the facts, whatever 
he may think about my comments on them — 
he will, I think, find it far easier to understand, 



76 HOW TO SKI 

remember, and put into practice the instructions 
which he will find in the subsequent chapters, 
as to the various swings, turns, and other 
manoeuvres for controlling and steering the 
skis, and keeping the balance while running 
downhill. 

Before proceeding any further, I had better, 
in order to avoid any chance of being misunder- 
stood, explain certain terms of which I shall 
constantly make use throughout the rest of the 
book. These terms are the " edging" and " flat- 
tening" of the skis, and the "inside" and 
" outside " of a curve. 

If any reader feels than an explanation of 
these terms is an insult to his intelligence, I 
can only assure him that such an explanation 
has been necessary in the case of many of my 
pupils. 

The terms "edging" and '' flattening" simply 
have reference to the relation of the plane of 
the ski's sole with that of the general surface 
on which it is resting, and do not refer to its 
relation with a horizontal plane, or, in other 
words, to its position in space 

Thus a ski is " flat " when standing in the 
normal position on level ground ; but, when 
standing in the normal position on the side of 



PEINCIPLES OF STEEEING 



77 



a slope, it is not ''flat," but "edged," for in this 
case the edge nearest the hill cuts deeper into 
the snow than the other although the plane of 
the sole is still horizontal. (Fig. 20, A and b.) 
The case is altered when the ski is in- 




FlG. 20. 
Edging and flattening. 

clined sideways ; on level ground a ski that is 
inclined sideways is " edged " (c and e) ; but on 
the side of a hill a ski when inclined sideways 
so that the plane of its sole becomes parallel with 
that of the surface of the slope, is not "edged" 
but "flat" (d). When inclined to the opposite 



78 HOW TO SKI 

side, however, it is, of course, "edged" even 
more strongly than in the normal position (f). 

The inside and outside of a curve mean, re- 
spectively, the sides nearest to, and farthest 
from, the centre of the circle of which that curve 
is an arc ; that is to say, that in speaking of 
a swing or a turn to the right, the right ski, 
foot, and so forth are the inside, and the left the 
outside ones, while in the case of a turn to the 
left it is just the reverse. 

This is simple enough. A shade of ambiguity, 
however, may lie in the fact that the edges of 
a ski are generally called " inside " and " outside " 
with reference to their relation to the foot, in 
the same way as those of a skate. In speaking, 
then, of swings or turns, the right edge, say, of 
the right ski may be referred to as its " outside " 
edge, even when the right ski itself, and the 
right leg, shoulder, and so on are all the inner 
ones in relation to the curve of the swing. 

Now for the facts referred to above. 

When a ski is pointed directly downhiU and is 
made to slide with its sole held fiat on the snow, 
it runs, if properly constructed, in a perfectly 
straight line. 

If it is then " edged " to one side it runs 
round gradually to that side, the curved point 



PEINCIPLES OF STEEEING 79 

acting against the snow like a bow rudder and 
drawing it to that side. 

The steering effect, in theory, increases with 
the edging until it reaches its maximum when 
the ski is edged to a right angle. What hap- 
pens in practice is that though the edging and 
the steering effect do increase together, there is 
no use in edging the ski beyond a certain angle — 
less than 45° — as, if that angle is exceeded, the ski 
sinks deeply into the snow and refuses to slide. 

If that angle is not exceeded, however, the 
deeper the ski sinks into the snow (owing to 
the softness of the latter) the greater is the 
steering effect, for then a larger and more sharply 
curved surface of the point comes into action as a 
rudder. 

If when going straight downhill the runner 
" edges " his ski — we will suppose he has only 
one — hy simply leaning sideways, he will equally 
simply fall down ; but if he " edges " it without 
leaning — if he edges it in relation to himself, so 
to speak — it will begin to turn ; that he then 
leans sideways in order to keep his balance does 
not make the turn sharper. 

If the runner traverses the slope with his ski 
held normally, as in Fig. 20, B, it will run 
straight, for although it is then edged in relation 



8o HOW TO SKI 

to the slope it is not edged in relation to him. If 
he edges it in relation to himself it will turn 
more or less according as the gradient of its 
previous traverse has been steep or gradual. 

When a ski running straight downhill is made 
to turn by *' edging," the further it turns, and 
the less directly therefore it points downhill, the 
less abrupt becomes the curve of its course. This 
curve, indeed, eventually becomes so gradual 
that before the ski has turned far enough to point 
horizontally across the slope and come to a stand- 
still, the line of its track is practically straight. 

When, therefore, a ski, traversing directly at 
a moderate gradient, is simply " edged " towards 
the slope, there is no perceptible turning effect, 
even if the runner does not lean inwards. 

At first sight it might appear that the move- 
ment of a ski when edged and travelling in 
a curve would be precisely similar to that of a 
skate, and so it is in a way. 

Since the edge of a skate is, in shape, the arc 
of a circle, a skate, when edged, cuts cleanly 
round without side-slip, and so in a sense does a 
ski, when simply edged, for its heel then follows in 
the track of its point. An edged ski, moreover, like 
a skate, turns more or less gradually, according 
to the angle at which it is edged. But while a 



PEINCIPLES OF STEEEING 



8i 



skate, the edge of which is curved throughout, 
touches the ice with only a very small part of 
this edge, and is able to make a curve of very 
small radius, a ski touches the snow with nearly 
the whole length of its edge, 
the greater part of which is 
quite straight. This straight 
part so far neutralises the 
turning action of the curved 
point, that a ski made to turn 
simply by edging is unable to 
make anything but a very 
long and gradual curve — so 
gradual, indeed, that for prac- 
tical purposes of steering the 
edging of the ski, unaided^ is 
absolutely useless. 

But though, contrary to 
what one might expect, the 
edging or flatten- 
ing of the skis may 
practically be dis- 
regarded as prim- 
ary factors in a turn, they are, as we shall see, 
of the greatest importance as secondary ones. 

Before a ski can be made to turn at all sharply, 
its heel must be got out of the track of its point 




82 HOW TO SKI 

and made to travel faster on a curve of its own 
(as in Fig. 21, b). The ski as a whole, in fact, 
must be made to side-slip more or less as well 
as move forward. 

The first question, then, is how the ski-heel is to 
be got out of the track of the point in order that 
the side-slip may start. If the ski is pointing 
nearly directly downhill, whether flat and 
running straight, or moving edged in a long 
curve, there is — apart from the help of the other 
ski, which we will leave out of the question for 
the present — only one possible way of doing it. 
The runner, by means of sudden — though not 
necessarily more than a very slight — muscular 
efiort must jerk it more or less broadside on. 
How he makes this effort need not be considered 
here ; we will also defer the consideration of the 
other ways in which the side-slip may be started. 
Supposing it has been started, it must then, by 
edging or flattening, be encouraged to continue, 
if the ski is to go on turning. 

It depends on the quality of the snow as to 
whether a ski side-slips more freely when flat 
or when more or less edged. If the surface of 
the snow is hard and icy, or if there is a mere 
shallow layer of loose snow on a hard crust, a 
ski will slip sideways either when quite flat 



PEINCIPLES OF STEEEING 83 

or when slightly or even strongly edged on the 
side /rom which it is moving. 

The flat position would in this case be the more 
favourable if the hard surface were perfectly 
smooth; this, however, it seldom is; it usually 
has small projections which, when the ski is quite 
flat, strike its side and check or stop it, while, if 
the edge is raised, they strike its sole obliquely 
and affect its motion but little. 

The flat position, then, is not advisable as 
an aid to side-slip even in the case of hard 
snow ; on snow of any other kind it is still 
less advisable, for if the ski sinks deeply into 
loose soft snow, or even but a little way into 
dense soft snow or into a thin crust, it can 
hardly be induced to side-slip at all when held 
quite flat, while when more or less edged, it 
can usually (if already in motion) be made to 
do so without much difl&culty. 

The reason is not quite obvious, for at first 
glance it would appear that the ski would meet 
more resistance from the snow in the edged 
position than in the flat, but this is not the 
case, for, when the ski is edged, most of the 
resistance is exerted ohliquely against its sole, 
and so tends to make the ski rise to the surface 
of the snow and relieves the pressure. When, 



84 



HOW TO SKI 



however, the ski is flat, the resistance acts 
directly against the side of it, and there is no 
lifting tendency to diminish the rapidity with 
which this resistance increases as the snow is 
compressed. 

Moreover, since during a turn the runner must 
lean inwards to keep his balance, the ski cannot 
remain in its normal position in relation to the 




Fig. 22. 

leg unless it is more or less edged inwards (Fig. 
22, a). That the leg and ski should remain 
as nearly as possible in their normal relative 
positions is an advantage, for the more nearly 
they do so the less is the strain on the ankle. 
If the weighted ski is held quite flat during 
a turn in which it is outermost, that ankle is 
placed in a very unstable position (Fig. 22, b), 
and is liable to give way and so edge the ski 



PKINCIPLES OF STEEEING 



85 



on that side towards which it is moving (Fig. 
22, c) ; it will then cut more deeply into the 
snow and be brought instantly to a standstill. 

In all that I have said so far about side-slip, 
I have assumed that the ski is moving more or 
less broadside on, with its heel travelling out- 




FlG. 23. 



side the track of its tip and its pivoting point 
well forward, and this is what either one or 
both skis actually do during the greater part 
of any swing or turn ; for, in turning, a ski 
usually passes through the positions of either b 
or c, Fig. 23. A ski may also, as, for instance, 
in turning downwards from a slow traverse, move 



86 HOW TO SKI 

so that the curve in which its point travels 
is outside that of the heel (Fig. 23, d) and its 
pivoting point is near the heel. In each of 
these cases, though one end is side-slipping 
faster than the other, both ends are slipping 
to the same side, and the ski, as I have said, 
has therefore to be edged to the opposite 
side. 

If, however, the ski begins to turn as in 
D, and finishes as in B or c, it must of 
course be edged first to one side and then to 
the other, as in e, and for a moment be 
flat. At this moment the pivoting point of the 
ski is at its centre, and its heel is side-slipping 
in one direction as much as its point is in the 
other, as in A. If ever, therefore, a ski, in 
turning, continues to pivot on its centre (Fig. 
23, a) instead of only doing so for a moment, it 
must obviously be held quite flat, as otherwise 
either one end or the other will cut below the 
surface of the snow and be checked suddenly. 

Now the pivoting point of a ski is never 
behind its centre except during a downward 
turn, and the faster the runner is moving 
before the turn, and the sharper the turn is 
made, the more quickly this point moves to 
the front ; the only case, I believe, in which 



PEINCIPLES OF STEERING 87 

it remains near the centre for an appreciable 
time, and when, therefore, the ski has to be 
held deliberately flat, being that of the outer ski 
during a " steered " Christiania swing. 

In order to facilitate side-slip, therefore, the 
outer edge of the ski must usually be raised as 
it turns or, even if at first the inner edge must 
be raised, a change of edge must usually take 
place almost immediately. The flat position, in 
fact, must never be sustained — except, as I have 
said, during a Christiania *' steered " swing, 
and even then only for a short time — it is 
simply a necessary incident in a change of 
edge. 

In each figure in Diagram 23 the dotted line 
with arrows shows the average direction of the 
ski's course at each point, and whether, therefore, 
it must be edged or flat. 

The foregoing remarks are an explanation of 
how the edging or flattening of the ski can be 
made to help the side-slip ; the next thing is to 
understand how the side-slip can be made to 
help the ski to turn sharply. 

If, when either standing still on the side of a 
slope or running across it in the normal, edged 
position, a ski is partially flattened, it will begin 
to slip sideways — in the first case moving directly 



88 HOW TO SKI 

downhill, and in the second obliquely, i.e. forwards 
as well as sideways. 

Now the foot stands on the ski at about half- 
way between the front bend and the heel — that 
is to say, about the middle of that part of the 
blade which rests on the snow ; and as long as 
the runner s weight is placed equally on toe and 
heel, a ski in side-slipping will continue to point 
in a direction parallel to that in which it was 
pointing when the side-slip began. 

When, however, the runner's weight is placed 
on the heel, that end of the ski will side-slip 
faster than the other, and the farther the ski 
slips the more it will point uphill; while when 
the weight is placed on the toe the reverse will 
happen. 

Fig. 24 shows what will happen if a ski, when 
(a, b, c) at rest on, or (d, e, f) running across a 
slope, is made to side-slip with the runner's 
weight variously distributed. In this and suc- 
ceeding diagrams the blackened portions of the 
skis are those on which the runner's weight 
is put. 

In A the ski slips broadside on downhill. 

In B it gradually revolves as it slips, and 
would finish by running downhill backwards if 
its shape did not prevent it from doing so. 



PEINCIPLES OF STEERING 



89 



In c its rotation is reversed, and it finally runs 
straight downhill. 

In D it runs slightly sideways, but the direc- 
tion of its course is a straight line. 

In E it turns uphill and at a certain point stops. 




Fig. 24. 



In F it at first turns and finally runs 
straight downhill. 

The side-slip can be stopped more or less 
quickly at any stage by the runner strongly 
edging the ski and at the same time again 
equalising the distribution of his weight on it. 



90 HOW TO SKI 

Whether the ski then runs on in the direction 
in which it is pointing, or comes to a standstill, 
of course depends on whether it is pointing 
downhill or not. 

It is obvious, then, that when a ski is in 
motion across a slope the runner, by means of 
the side-slip, can make it turn in either direction 
and to any extent up to a certain limit, and can 
in this way either come to a standstill, slightly 
alter his direction, or run straight downhill. It 
is equally obvious that no matter what means 
are employed for starting a turn (there are more 
ways of doing so than I have yet described), 
the distribution of the runner's weight on the 
ski or skis which carry it may make all the 
difference to the success or failure of the 
manoeuvre. 

I have already said that when a ski is running 
straight downhill it may be made to turn by 
the runner jerking it somewhat broadside on. 
He can of course do the same with" the two skis, 
but a simpler plan is for him to stand on one, 
point the other more or less in the direction in 
which he wants to go, and hold it so for a 
moment. It is thus of course made to " stem " 
— in other words, to side-slip — and, if the runner 
then throws his weight on to its heel, it can, 



PEINCIPLES OF STEERING 91 

as we have just seen, be made to turn still further, 
the previously weighted one being again brought 
parallel with it as it does so. A turn can also 
be started from a traverse in the same way. 

When one ski is held at an angle with the 
other in order to start a turn in the above way, 
the relative position of the two usually produces 
some steering effect ; the two skis in fact act 
together something like a boat and rudder. To 
say that one ski may be looked upon as the boat 
and the other as the rudder is hardly accurate, 
for the steering effect is at its greatest when, 
as the runner's weight is shifted from the ski 
that is running straight ahead to the one that 
is held sideways, it rests equally on both ; at 
which moment, since their area is equal, either 
of the skis may equally well be looked upon as 
the rudder or as the boat. If, however, it is 
remembered that the boat steers the rudder no 
less than the rudder steers the boat, and that 
if the rudder is fixed in a certain position, it 
and the boat together may be considered as 
one solid object whose shape determines whether 
and how it is able to turn, one may, by compar- 
ing the skis with a boat and rudder, understand 
whether and how, when held in various relative 
positions, they are able to turn. 



92 



HOW TO SKI 



The diagram shows the skis as they are held 
at the beginning of — A, a Telemark, B, a Stem- 
ming turn, and c, a Christiania. It also shows 
a boat turning to the left steered by both a bow 
and a stern rudder. 

The steering action of the skis may be best 




Fig. 25. 1 



understood by considering the blackened parts 
of each pair (in which the steering effect is 
neutral) as the sides of a boat, and the light 
point and heel of each pair as a bow and 
stern rudder respectively. It will then be seen 
that the boat is in each case helped to turn to 
the left by the action of both rudders, or that 
if it can in some way be made to turn to the 

1 The darkened ski of each pair is the weighted one. 



PEINCIPLES OF STEEEING 93 

left without the help of the rudders, they will 
at least not hinder it — than which, as a matter 
of fact, Httle more can be said in the case of 
the Telemark ; though in the Stemming turn 
there is a strong steering action while the skis 
remain in this position, and a distinct, if weak, 
one in the Christiania, 

The principal factors, then, in the control and 
steering of the skis are the edging or flattening 
of them, the distribution of the weight on them, 
and the placing of them in certain positions 
in relation to each other. How these various 
factors interact during the different swings, 
turns, &c., will be explained more fully in sub- 
sequent chapters, but before closing this one 
I want to give some explanation of how a 
turn on skis depends as to its character on 
whether the ski at the moment of beginning 
the turn is running straight down the hill or 
across it, on whether the speed is high or low, 
and the slope steep or gentle, and also on the 
quality of the snow. 

The accompanying diagram shows the suc- 
cessive positions assumed by a ski (the leading 
one, the other is not shown) during a turn to 
the right, under various conditions. 

The line passing through the middle of the 



94 HOW TO SKI 

skis shows the curve on which the runner himself 
travels during the turn ; the line ending in a 
double arrow shows the sort of curve on which 
he would travel if the ski were able to cut 
round without side-slip as a skate does. It will 
be seen that if there were no side-slip he would 
in every case move steadily to the right of 
the line of his original course (shown by a 
dotted line in the diagram), but that, on account 
of the side-slip, the line on which he travels 
sometimes moves only slightly to the right of 
that line, even when the turn itself is a 
sharp one, that sometimes it moves to the 
left of it and then recrosses it, and that some- 
times it remains entirely on the left of it 
throughout the turn. To understand how, 
according to the conditions, the curve of the 
runner's actual course varies, is a great help 
to the balance, for at first one's instinct is to 
balance the body as if the ski were cutting 
round like a skate, i.e. to lean inwards too 
much, which, of course, inevitably results in 
a fall. 

In every case the turn is supposed to be made 
as sharply as the conditions allow. It will be 
seen that on hard snow the runner, when travel- 
ling fast, will skid almost directly sideways for 



PKINCIPLES OF STEEEING 95 




some distance from the spot where he actually 
finishes turning. 

A, B, c, D are turns made while the runner 



96 HOW TO SKI 

is travelling straight downhill, or, which amounts 
to the same thing, while he is running on the 
level at the end of a downhill slide. E, r, G, h 
are turns made while the runner is descending 
a slope obliquely. A to f are what are known 
as uphill turns, which bring the runner to a 
standstill; G and H are downhill ones, which 
enable him to join one tack to another when 
descending a hill in zigzags. 

If anyone who has done no ski-ing at all reads 
this chapter, he will, no doubt, think it very 
complicated ; but if, while actually learning to 
ski, and especially while learning the turns, he 
looks through it from time to time, I think 
he will soon understand whatever is not quite 
clear, and will, I hope, find that it helps him 
to correct his mistakes and to understand and 
remember his instructions. 




iscrapiiig ngiit ski. — (xi.) 




Scraping left ski.— (xii.) 



STRAIGHT-RUNNING 97 



STRAIGHT-RUNNING 

Cleaning Skis. — Before attempting to start, 
you must make sure that your skis will slide. 

In thawy weather, or very strong sunshine, the 
snow may stick to their under surfaces — so badly, 
sometimes, that sliding is out of the question. 
But it is seldom quite impossible to slide, and 
under conditions which seem hopeless to a be- 
ginner one can generally get started, if one knows 
how to set about it. When once under weigh 
the great thing is to keep moving, for the 
moment the skis stop sliding the snow will stick 
again, and the whole cleaning process described 
below must be repeated. 

In snow which is only slightly sticky you 
need merely stamp your skis hard once or 
twice, and rub them firmly backwards and for- 
wards on the hardened snow until you can feel 
that they are quite slippery. Then slide off 
at once. 

If the snow sticks badly, the skis must be 
scraped on each other (unless there are any 
branches or hard objects lying about which will 

G 



98 HOW TO SKI 

do as well). To do this on level ground is easy ; 
on the side of a hill rather less so. 

Suppose you are obliged to start your run on 
the hillside and wish to scrape your skis. 

First stand with your skis pointing across the 
slope, and, by vigorously stamping or jumping, 
make as hard a place to stand in as possible. 

If you are standing with your right side to the 
hill, and want to scrape the right ski, rest your 
left ski on its right (inside) edge, lift round the 
right ski, and put it across the other one, at right 
angles to it, just behind the left foot and point- 
ing directly uphill. Then scrape it hard up and 
down across the raised outer edge of the left ski, 
bending the left knee well and crouching down 
so as to get a long scrape from the heel right up 
to the bend of the right ski (Plate XI.). When 
the ski feels perfectly smooth, lift it round again 
parallel to the other ski, and without i^esting it 
on the snotv for an instant stamp and rub it 
backwards and forwards until it is as slippery 
as possible and the snow beneath it as hard and 
smooth as you can make it. Then, and not until 
then, you can rest the ski on the snow, placing it 
on its right (outer) edge and doing your best to 
prevent its sole from touching the snow. Now, 
with your weight on the right ski, but still 



STEAIGHT-EUNNING 99 

holding it well on its edge, face downhill, lift 
round the left ski, put it across the heel of the 
other one, pointing downhill, and, crouching well 
down as before, scrape it clean on the inside 
edge of the other (Plate XII. ) ; this time it is 
the heel of the ski which it is difficult to get 
at. Then bring it round to the side of the right 
ski, repeat the stamping and rubbing process, 
and place it carefully on its inside edge. Now 
start instantly. (How to do so is explained 
later.) 

If the snow is very bad indeed, it is best, 
when on tour, before beginning the descent, 
to take off the skis, scrape and wipe them 
absolutely clean, and dry them thoroughly in 
the sun or air — but not, if you can help it, by 
standing them upright in the snow, for if they 
are wet the water will run down and form ice at 
the heel ends. Then wax and polish them well, 
let their soles cool in the shade if they are warm 
from the sun, and put them on. You will 
probably be able to slide off without trouble ; or, 
if it is still necessary to scrape and rub them, 
they will become clean more easily. 

This scraping sounds an elaborate and weari- 
some process, and so it is. Fortunately it is 
not often necessary ; but, when the snow is really 



100 HOW TO SKI 

bad, it is an enormous saving of time and trouble 
in the end to attend minutely to every detail, 
and may be the only means of getting a run 
at all. 

It is not unusual to see a beginner refuse to 
get his skis thoroughly clean, under the impres- 
sion that the slower pace will make things easier 
for him. He could not make a greater mistake. 
If he leaves any snow sticking to his skis they 
will certainly move slowly (unless they refuse to 
slide altogether), but they will do so with an 
irregular, jerky motion which is ten times more 
upsetting than the fastest movement of polished 
skis. 

Starting. — To start from the top of a hill is 
a simple matter. You walk to the edge and 
slide over in any direction you choose. 

On the side of a slope, however, there is a 
difficulty in starting a run straight downhill 
owing to the fact that, as you move the skis 
round, they begin to slide before you are facing 
the way you wish to go. 

One way to overcome this difficulty is as 
follows : Suppose you are standing at right 
angles to the fall of the slope, with the hill on 
your right, and wish to start to run straight 
downhill. 




Starting a run on hillside.— (xiii.) Straight-running: normal position.— (xv.) 




I:..-:. , - - i 

Straight-running: normal position.— (xiv.) 




Straight-running; how not to do it.— (XVI.) 




Straight-running: Telemark position. — (xvil.) 



STEAIGHT-RUNNING i o i 

First move both skis round a little way, so 
that, like the left ski in Plate XIII., they point 
downhill as directly as possible without actually 
slipping. Then, putting all the weight on the 
left ski, lift the right ski and place it on the 
snow, pointing straight downhill, its tip being 
just in front of and below the tip of the other 
one, as in the photograph. The weight should 
still be on the left ski. If there is any sign of 
slipping, you can stop it by turning the skis 
on to their inside edges and pressing outwards 
against them with the legs. 

You are now quite steady and ready to start. 
In order to do so you merely have to throw all 
your weight on to the right foot and to lean well 
forward, downhill. The right ski will at once 
slide off, the right foot will strike and push 
forward the point of the left ski, which will, 
if left to itself, come round, and fall into what, 
as will appear later, is its proper position close 
to the side of the other. 

Another simple and frequently used method 
of starting downhill from the horizontal position 
is to jump round. The same points are to be 
noticed as when using a jump in the place of a 
kick- turn. Bring the feet level, spring from the 
ball of the foot, press the knees as well as the feet 



I02 HOW TO SKI 

together, hold the skis parallel, and don't let their 
heels drop. You must land leaning well forward, 
so that the general direction of the body and 
legs is at right angles to the slope, not vertical, 
otherwise the skis will run from under you. 

This jump round is easier than the first one 
described, being only a quarter-turn, while the 
other is a half- turn. 

Straight-running. — As you begin to slide, place 
yourself in the position of Plates XIY. and XV., 
which is the normal one for running downhill — 
skis held in contact, so that they leave a single 
track ; one ski about a foot in advance of 
the other ; the advanced leg almost straight 
at the knee, the other more bent ; nearly all 
the weight on the back foot ; the inside of the 
front knee pressed against the kneecap of the 
other ; body erect ; arms hanging easily by 
the sides; stick, or sticks, if carried, held clear 
of the snow. 

Hold yourself perfectly easily and without 
stiffness, especially at the knees, which should 
give to the inequalities of the ground. It is 
far better to stand too loosely, and sway about 
somewhat, than to keep every muscle tense. 

You can keep the skis together without effort 
by bending the knees and ankles well inwards, 



STEAIGHT-EUNNING 103 

so as to place the skis slightly on their inside 
edges ; they will then tend to run together 
rather than to separate. Take the greatest care 
to avoid any approach to a bow-legged position, 
which would edge the skis outwards. There 
should be no daylight visible between your knees 
to a person standing in front of you. 

If you should find the skis running wide apart 
with the weight equally on both, don't try to 
force them together, but throw all your weight 
on to one ski, and then you will be able to 
move back the other quite easily to its proper 
position. 

Carry the stick, or sticks, as shown in the 
photographs (Plates XIV. and XY.). On no 
account hold a single stick (or the two sticks 
placed together) in both hands. If you feel the 
smallest tendency to do so, practise at first with 
nothing in your hands. 

This will save you from acquiring the habit 
of falling into the deplorable attitude shown in 
Plate XVI., or the almost equally bad one in 
which the stick is held out in front transversely 
like a balancing pole, ready for the teeth of 
its owner if he happens to pitch forwards. 

If their weight or length makes it difficult to 
keep the sticks clear of the snow when held by 



I04 HOW TO SKI 

the ends, hold them rather nearer the middle, but 
not much nearer or they will be more likely to 
hurt you if you fall. 

Don't hold out the arms horizontally from the 
shoulders, for that is tiring and ungraceful. 

The knees, as I said, should give to small 
inequalities of the ground ; but as you are almost 
sure instinctively to stiffen them a little when 
you find yourself approaching a bump or hollow 
which looks likely to upset your balance, it is 
as well to bend or straighten them voluntarily 
according to circumstances. As you go over a 
mound, for instance, bend the knees and let 
the body sink ; if it is necessary to sink low, 
raise the heel of the back foot and let more 
weight fall on the advanced one. As you cross 
a hollow, straighten the knees and rise as high 
as you can. In this way the pressure of the 
skis on the snow will vary but little and the 
unevenness of the ground will scarcely be felt. 
The feeling will be that of moving steadily 
and smoothly along, lifting the skis over the 
hillocks, and pressing them down into the 
hollows. A spectator who can only see your 
head and body should hardly know that the 
ground over which you are moving is not per- 
fectly smooth. 



STEAIGHT-RUNNING 105 

In this way you can negotiate short varia- 
tions of gradient where the general angle of the 
slope remains constant. In the case of larger 
inequalities, or where the general angle of the 
slope changes, you must alter your procedure. 
The line from your centre of gravity to its 
point of support must always be at right angles 
to the surface of the slope, so, where the ground 
becomes steeper, you will have to lean more 
forward, and less so where it becomes less steep. 
But though you will have to tilt yourself for- 
ward consciously as you pass on to a steeper 
slope, you may safely leave to unconscious in- 
stinct the backward lean in the opposite case. 
If you try to lean backward consciously, you 
are almost certain to overdo it and to sit 
down. 

There is a further safeguard in the case of 
sudden changes of gradient, very rough ground, 
snow of varying consistency which alternately 
checks and accelerates the speed, and, in fact, 
anything which makes it difficult to keep the 
balance — that is, to drop into what is generally 
known as the " Telemark " position (Plates XYII., 
XVIII., XIX.), because it is the one held during 
the swing of that name. 

To assume this attitude, you shift the weight 



io6 HOW TO SKI 

from the back foot to the advanced one, and 
then sink down, leaning the body forwards, 
bending both knees, and sUding the back ski 
still farther back until its bend is level with 
the leading ankle. 

Practically all your weight should then be 
upon the leading foot, and upon its heel, no 
less than its toes. To make sure of this, the 
advanced leg must be bent at the knee almost 
to a right angle, and the knee must be kept 
well forward, so that the leg, from the knee 
downwards, will be at right angles to the ski, 
no matter how steep may be the slope. 

If the front foot is thrust forward in advance 
of the knee, too much weight will fall on the 
toe (unlikely as it may appear) and, moreover, 
some weight will be thrown on the back foot, 
which should carry next to none. Let the 
back knee drop until quite close to the ski 
(when crossing uneven ground it will very likely 
touch it) and raise the heel of the back foot 
as far as possible. That leg should then be 
perfectly relaxed and easy. Keep the skis close 
together as before, so that they leave a single 
track, by edging them a trifle inwards and pressing 
both knees, especially the back one, well inwards 
so that, seen from in front or behind, they overlap. 



STRAIGHT-EUNNING 107 

Practise running in this position with either 
foot leading, taking care to keep the weight 
well on the front foot. It is an indispensable 
accomplishment ; and although at first it may 
not seem so easy a position as the normal one, 
it is such a help to the balance that later on 
you must be on your guard or you may contract 
the bad habit of running constantly in this 
position when there is no real need for it. 

In this position not only is the centre of 
gravity lowered, but the base of support is con- 
siderably lengthened, and the fore and aft 
stability is thus enormously increased. By 
means of it you will be able to move with 
perfect steadiness over ground which would 
almost inevitably upset you if you were to 
stand up in the normal position. 

In this, just as in the normal position, you 
can consciously raise and lower yourself to allow 
for uneven ground, by bending or straighten- 
ing the advanced leg ; but this will seldom be 
necessary, except for very abrupt inequalities. 

Even sudden changes of speed have little 
power to disturb your balance when you are 
running in this attitude. If the gradient 
suddenly becomes much steeper, as in Plates 
XVIII. and XIX., you should give a determined 



io8 HOW TO SKI 

plunge forwards, as though trying to get ahead 
of your skis. If, however, you are taken by 
surprise, and run suddenly on to an invisible 
icy patch or over a steep drop in bad light, 
you will probably at the worst only find your 
weight thrown on to the back foot, and will be 
able to recover yourself On the other hand, 
if the speed is checked and you are thrown 
forwards, the back foot will tend to rise into 
the air, and, receiving the weight of the ski, 
will most likely just save you. If the check is 
so abrupt as to throw you right off your 
balance forwards, you can often save yourself 
by bringing, with a quick stride, the dis- 
engaged back foot to the front to receive your 
weight. Indeed you are almost sure to do so 
instinctively. 

Another position, which is employed by some 
runners under circumstances such as I have 
just described, is as follows : — 

The runner crouches as low as possible, almost 
sitting on the raised heel of the back foot ; the 
front leg, from the knee downwards, is per- 
pendicular to the ski, but its foot is not much 
farther ahead than in the normal running 
position ; the back knee is pressed against the 
inside of the front leg, just above the ankle. 



STEAIGHT-RUNNING 109 

This attitude is less tiring to hold than the 
Telemark position, but is, I think, less of a safe- 
guard to the balance when the speed changes 
suddenly or the ground is very rough. 

All that I have just said has reference only 
to the preservation of the balance in a fore and 
aft direction. The question of lateral stability 
is far simpler ; on all ordinary occasions it is 
sufficiently secured by keeping the skis as close 
together, and so making as narrow a track as 
possible. 

The reason for this is not quite self-evident, 
but is easily explained. 

If a bicycle be ridden on bumpy ground, it 
will not be tilted sideways as it crosses the 
side of an undulation, and will have no tendency 
to upset unless it actually side-slips. 

A tricycle, on the other hand, or any vehicle 
with a wide wheel-base, will under similar cir- 
cumstances be more or less tilted according to 
the angle of the ground, and will, unless it 
has a very wide wheel-base and a low centre 
of gravity, be easily upset by a sudden trans- 
verse variation in the angle of the ground, 
especially when moving fast. 

The diagram shows how a ski-runner when 
holding his skis apart may be compared with 



no 



HOW TO SKI 




413. 



a tricycle, when holding them together with 

a bicycle. 

This is not quite a fair simile, for, while the 

cases of the bicycle and of the ski-runner in 

the single-track position 
are exactly analogous, a 
man with his skis apart 
is not a rigid construc- 
tion like a tricycle, but, 
by letting his knees give 
and by swaying his body, 
can adapt himself to the 
change of gradient. 

Still, the tendency is 
always, especially in the 
case of the beginner, 
for the legs to stiffen 
when they ought to 
yield, and on this ac- 
count alone the single- 
track position is the safer. 
There are, moreover, two further objections — 

and very strong ones — to separating the skis. 
One is that it is impossible to run with the 

skis apart without holding the feet about level, 

instead of keeping one well ahead of the other. 

With the feet level the runner has far less 




Fig. 27. 



STEAIGHT-EUNNING 1 1 1 

stability in a fore and aft direction, and, without 
support from his stick, can hardly hope to keep 
his balance in the event of a very sudden change 
of speed. The other objection is that when the 
skis are separated each one has to be kept 
straight independently. At a low speed it is 
perhaps not very difficult to do this, but at 
a high speed it is by no means easy, and, 
of course, any divergence or convergence of the 
skis is almost certain to cause a fall before it 
can be checked. 

When held against each other, however, the 
skis, if properly made, will run perfectly straight 
and need no attention at all. Obviously they 
cannot converge, and the least inward pressure 
or edging will prevent them from running apart. 

The single-track position, then, has many 
advantages. The only thing against it is its 
unsteadiness in the event of side-slip. But 
under ordinary conditions of snow, a ski, when 
moving straight ahead, either directly down the 
slope or obliquely across it, will show no ten- 
dency to side-slip, not even when, in the latter 
case, the slope is very steep (provided, of course, 
the ski be held normally, i.e, edged). Under 
such conditions you can always run with the 
skis held close together in either the normal 



112 HOW TO SKI 

or the Telemark position, and there can be no 
excuse for deliberately separating them. 

When running on a hard icy crust, however, 
it is sometimes impossible to prevent the skis 
from side-slipping. They are, of course, much 
more apt to side-slip when moving across a slope 
(especially a steep one) than when running 
straight down it ; indeed when traversing a steejp 
slope they may side-slip even in soft snow if that 
is shallow and rests on a slippery crust. But 
though they will generally run straight downhill 
with absolute steadiness on snow that makes 
them side-slip badly when traversing, the sur- 
face may be so extremely slippery that they will 
side-slip even in a direct descent owing to small 
lateral undulations of the ground. 

As soon, in either case, as the tendency to 
side-slip becomes so pronounced that you are 
really hopelessly unsteady in the single-track 
position, you will, if you still want to run at 
full speed, have to separate the feet more or 
less and hold them about level. Do not separate 
the feet more than just enough to steady you, 
and do not do it at all until you are quite sure 
it is absolutely necessary ; try merely to separate 
them a little for a moment when the side-slip 
unsteadies you and to recover the normal position 




^ V 



Snow-ploughing (stemming with both 
skis).— (XX.) 




Braking with the sticks.— (xxi.) 



STRAIGHT-EUNNING 1 1 3 

instantly ; some runners seem able to hold the 
single-track position at any speed on the most 
slippery snow — possibly by making imperceptible 
jumps to one side or another as they feel the slip 
begin. 

When running with your feet level and apart, 
your fore and aft balance will, of course, be more 
precarious than in the normal position ; you had 
better, therefore, lower your centre of gravity 
by crouching as low as you can with steadiness, 
i.e. not so low that all your weight comes on 
the heels or that they have to be raised at all. 
In the level-footed position your best safeguard 
in case of sudden changes of gradient or snow 
consistency is not to lean backwards or forwards, 
but to move the feet forwards or backwards, which 
amounts to exactly the same thing but is a much 
quicker process. 

This may not be quite clear. Let me try to 
explain. As I have already said, the line from 
your centre of gravity to your point of support 
must always be about at right angles to the 
slope. Suppose then that you are running fast 
down a slope with an abrupt mound in front of 
you, instead of trying to readjust your balance 
as you pass on to the mound by leaning suddenly 
backwards, do so by still more suddenly doubling 



114 HOW TO SKI 

forwards a bit at the hips and, so to speak, lifting 
your feet forwards and placing them against the 
mound to receive your weight. If, on the other 
hand, you suddenly run off a gentle slope on to 
a steep one, quickly hollow your back a little, 
and, by straightening yourself at the hips and 
bending your knees more, lift your feet backwards 
and place them against the slope behind you. 
By " lifting " the skis I do not mean actually 
raising them from the snow, but only taking 
the weight off them a trifle, and sliding them. 
These movements are exactly the same as those 
you would make if, when standing with your 
feet tied together, you were pushed off your 
balance either forwards or backwards and were 
then to save yourself by a little jump in the 
corresponding direction. Leaning backwards and 
forwards, which as it is done principally on the 
hinge of the ankles cannot be done quickly, may 
be used as a preventive of loss of balance, but is 
practically useless as a cure ; this moving of the 
feet, however, is particularly useful for the latter 
purpose. If you try the two methods when 
running quickly down a very undulating icy 
path, you will soon decide in favour of the latter. 
You can, of course, do the same thing when 
running in steady snow with the skis together 



STRAIGHT-EUNNING 115 

in the normal position, but it is then simpler and 
quicker to move one foot backwards or forwards 
instead of moving both. 

Although, as I have said, side-slip occurs more 
readily when you are traversing a slope, you will 
then find it far less upsetting than when you are 
running straight downhill. When traversing in 
normal position with the skis together, the upper 
foot should lead and the weight be on the lower ; 
with the lower foot weighted it will take a 
very sudden and pronounced side-slip to upset 
you, for as the lower ski slips the upper will 
receive the weight, and the sudden pressure will 
probably make its edge hold long enough for 
you to recover your balance. Moreover, you 
will generally, when traversing, be running pretty 
slowly (you can, of course, go as slowly as you 
like by making the angle of your traverse a very 
gradual one), which makes side-slip still less likely 
to upset you. It is, therefore, hardly ever neces- 
sary to traverse with your skis more than a few 
inches apart. 

If you wish to run a traverse at high speed 
where the tendency to side-slip is very pro- 
nounced, do not make violent efforts to prevent 
it by edging your skis extra hard, but simply 
keep them normally edged with your ankles, 



ii6 HOW TO SKI 

and especially your knees, well over towards the 
hill, and then let them side-slip if they want to. 
Make no attempt to lean towards the slope, but 
keep your weight well outwards and forwards, 
imagine that you are making for a spot rather 
helow where your skis are pointing, and run as 
lightly as possible, cultivating, if you can, a sort 
of semi-sideways floating feeling, which is hardly 
describable but which you will certainly recognise 
if you do as I have told you. 

Generally speaking, the harder and slipperier 
the snow the more lightly you should try to run, 
the softer the snow the more heavily you should 
try to drive your skis into it. 

You can entirely disregard the hard ruts of 
ski tracks unless you are obliged to cross them 
at a narrow angle. If you cannot help doing 
this (which you should try to if running fast) 
be ready, if one of the skis or both get turned 
off their course, to lift one quickly and put it 
straight again before you lose your balance. 
You should never be afraid of lifting your skis, 
especially on hard snow ; by stepping about 
quickly you can not only keep your balance even 
when running fast, but can alter your course, 
though in the latter case you must be careful 
as you put the first-lifted ski to the snow again 



STEAIGHT-RUNNING 117 

to lift the other instantly, or they will run apart 
for a moment and probably upset you. The 
greater your speed, the less of course will be 
the change of direction that you can make safely 
in one step, but by pattering round quickly you 
can turn fairly short when going at a good rate. 

When running straight downhill in either 
normal or Telemark position either foot may 
lead, and you should change about, when prac- 
tising, until you find you can lead as easily with 
one as with the other. When traversing in 
normal position the upper foot should lead, in 
Telemark position, the lower foot — that is to 
say, that in traversing the weighted foot should 
always be the loiver one. 

The more weight is carried by the lower ski, 
the less difficulty will you find in keeping the 
other one close to the side of it. 

Should the upper ski show a tendency to run 
uphill, away from the other, put no more weight 
on it, but merely turn its inner edge slightly 
downwards, and press on the toe, when it will 
run back to its proper position. 

If you have any difficulty in preventing it 
from running downwards, and crossing the 
other, you can slide it to the rear, and drop 
into Telemark position, lower foot leading. 



ii8 HOW TO SKI 

Although, generally speakmg, you should avoid 
all eiFort and hold yourself easily and loosely, 
you must, when your balance is disturbed, make 
every effort in your power to keep it. 

One very often falls simply through expecting 
to fall, and doing nothing to save oneself, when 
a determination not to fall would carry one 
through. 

Don't be afraid of running straight down the 
steepest slope, provided the ground is open and 
fairly smooth^ the snow easy and safe^ and the 
change of gradient at the bottom not sudden. 
Remember that the pace does not go on in- 
creasing, but attains its maximum in a second 
or two. It is only while you are gathering way 
that the sensation is at all alarming ; when full 
speed is reached — provided the ground be smooth 
— a steep slope feels no more difficult than a 
gradual one. If, however, there are any un- 
dulations — however small — ^you had better run 
down a steep slope in the Telemark position. 
For though on a moderate slope you might 
hardly notice them, or could allow for them as 
directed above, on a steep slope the high speed 
will very much increase their effect, and to run 

Soft enough to give steerage way, and free from breakable 
crust or very soft patches that check the skis suddenly. 



STRAIGHT-EUNNING 119 

over a small mound may shoot you into the air 
if your legs happen to be rigid at the moment. 

Whenever you are actually running freely and 
not trying to put on the brake, or stop (explained 
later), the very best safeguard to the balance is 
a desire to go faster. 

Should you not happen to want to go faster, 
pretend you do, if you are not above such 
childishness. 

No amount of wanting, of course, will affect 
your speed, but this mental attitude will enor- 
mously increase your steadiness by removing the 
fatal tendency to lean backwards. 

Similarly, to wish to go slower will not make 
you do so, but will very likely be the sole cause 
of a fall. 

Some such sentence as *' This is very slow," 
repeated to oneself as one goes over any difficult 
ground, is a more potent spell than might be 
imagined. 



120 HOW TO SKI 



BRAKING 



If you wish to reduce your speed or stop, you 
can, as a rule, if you are not going fast — and 
sometimes even if you are — do so without alter- 
ing your course, by making one or both skis move 
more or less broadside on. Although I am only 
now about to describe the different ways in which 
this may be done, you should begin to learn 
them at the very outset — or even before you try 
straight-running, if you are very nervous — and 
should certainly not attempt to run very fast 
until you can brake perfectly by every method 
described in this chapter, and are fairly proficient 
in the turns to be described later on. 

Single- Stemming or Half-Snow-Plough, — For 
this find a moderate slope on which the snow is 
neither very soft nor so hard that you cannot 
possibly traverse it without side-slipping — an 
ordinary practice-ground in its normal state is 
just the thing. 

Stand with your skis horizontally across the 
slope ; weight the lower one ; lift the upper, and 
place it pointing steeply enough downhill to slide 
perfectly freely, with its tip quite close to the 
other's, but far enough behind it for the upper 
foot to be exactly above the lower one (Fig. 28). 



BRAKING 



121 



Now lean towards ^ithe upper leg, and bend it 
until your weight is on it, facing towards the 
point of the upper ski and edging it. Then, 
keeping the lower leg in exactly the same 
position, bend its ankle outwards, and almost, 
hut not quite (see p. 83), flatten the ski. The 




Stopping. 
L. Weighted and edged. 



Going. 

R. Weighted and edged. 

L. Unweighted and flattened. 



Fig. 28. — Single-stemming or half-snow-plough. 

flattening of the ski will release you, and you 
will slide off in the direction of the upper ski's 
point, pushing the lower ski, which must still 
remain horizontal, forwards and sideways through 
the snow — stemming with it in fact. You can go 
as slowly as you like, or as fast as the conditions 
permit, according as you keep the stemming ski 
more edged and weighted or less. You can stop 
suddenly by throwing your whole weight on to 



122 HOW TO SKI 

the stemming ski, facing round towards its point, 
and quickly bringing the upper ski beside it and 
forward to the normal position. 

Now make a kick turn (a downhill one for 
choice), and repeat the process in the other 
direction, stemming with the other foot. 

Practise this in both directions until you have 
complete control of your speed, and can stop 
yourself almost instantly when moving at a fair 
rate, remembering always to face round and 
bring the upper ski smartly into the normal posi- 
tion as you stop. Then practise it with the upper 
ski pointing more and more steeply downhill. 

It is, of course, possible to start stemming in 
this way when running freely across the slope 
with the skis together, and when accustomed to 
doing it from a standstill you should also practise 
this, but only when running at a moderate pace, 
as there are steadier and easier ways of stopping 
when running fast. 

You must, as I have said, hold the lower foot 
exactly below the upper one, because in that 
position you can push along the stemming ski 
with least effort, and most quickly throw the 
weight on it if the other ski side-slips or you 
want to stop suddenly. This means that the 
more directly downhill you go the farther forward 



BRAKING 



123 



you will have to hold the lower foot, and the 
more, consequently, you will have to bend the 
upper leg (in order still to keep the weight on 
the upper ski), eventually having to lift its heel 
and finally to sit on it, if you are to stem almost 
or quite directly downhill, as 
it is quite possible to do. 

If you find you can do all 
this fairly comfortably, by all 
means do so ; if, however, you 
find that at a certain angle 
your position on the upper leg 
becomes very tiring or un- 
steady, leave this manoeuvre 
and try stemming with both 
skis, which is also called 

Snow -ploughing. — Start 
straight downhill, where the fig. 29.— Doubie-stem- 

1 . . . J 1 • , 1 mine or snow-plough.^ 

slope is quite gentle, m the 
normal running position. The moment you are 
moving bring your feet level, put the weight 
on both, raise the outer edges of the skis by 
bending your knees inwards a little, and, with- 
out letting the ski-tips separate, push their heels 
as wide apart as you possibly can. The legs 
must now be absolutely straight at the knees. 

^ The blackened parts are those which should be weighted. 




124 HOW TO SKI 

If you keep your knees straight and ankles 
relaxed the skis will travel nearly flat — they 
should never, as I have said, be quite flat or 
their outer edges will catch and trip you — and 
there will be but little braking effect. If you 
bend your knees inwards a little, and edge your 
skis strongly, you will, if the slope is moderate, 
reduce your pace gradually and stop. On very 
icy snow, unless the slope is very gentle, you 
cannot stop by snow-ploughing, however hard 
you edge, but can only reduce your speed more 
or less. The V position is then, however, a very 
useful alternative to the position with the skis 
slightly apart and parallel as a safeguard to 
the balance in case of side-slip. It of course 
gives the utmost lateral stability (if the straddle 
is very wide, as it always should be), and the 
straight knees prevent it from being in the least 
tiring, while, when the skis are flattened, the 
reduction of speed is hardly worth considering. 
It is therefore usually preferable to the other 
position, with its tiring crouch, unless the slope 
is steep (and the speed therefore very high) 
or the ground rough, when it becomes unsafe 
on account, not only of its rigidity, but of its 
greater fore and aft instability, for with the 
legs in this position one cannot move the feet 



BRAKING 125 

quickly backwards and forwards in the way 
described on p. 113. On ground neither steep 
nor rough enough to make it unsteady, one 
can, if the snow is hard, safely take the snow- 
plough position quite suddenly when running 
at full speed. This is very convenient if when 
running in normal position one suddenly runs 
on to an icy patch. 

On hard snow, then, snow-ploughing is only 
effective for braking purposes under certain con- 
ditions. In soft snow, if that is at all deep, it is 
almost useless — except for those who can make 
an abnormally wide straddle — for if in soft snow 
the skis are put in the V position, the inward pres- 
sure of the snow against them is so great that 
unless the legs can resist it almost directly they 
are forced together at once, or, at the best, have 
to let the skis run almost parallel, in which case 
there is not much object in holding them apart 
at all. If, however, you are one of the fortunate 
few who can straddle more than three quarters of 
their height and point their feet almost directly 
inwards, you will find that snow-ploughing gives 
you perfect control, even in soft snow, on all but 
the steepest slopes, and that even there you may 
be able to manage by throwing most of the 
weight on one ski and making it slide nearly 



126 HOW TO SKI 

broadside on while the other points almost 
straight downhill, the line of your course 
being still directly down the slope, and the legs 
still straddled as widely as possible, and straight 
at the knees. You will, however, only be able 
to do this by paying particular attention to the 
edging of the weighted ski, for if it is edged 
either too much or too little it will not slide at 
all when you try to move along slowly, and wall 
check you suddenly and throw you down when 
you try to stop. 

It is important to remember in snow-plough- 
ing that, whether you want to brake hard 
or only slightly, the straddle must always be as 
wide as possible ; the speed should depend on the 
flattening or edging of the skis, not on the angle 
between them. Moreover, if when running free 
with skis together you want to take the V posi- 
tion, you must always — even if running fast — 
do so as quickly as possible (not forgetting just 
to lift the outer edges of the skis before you push 
them out). Remember also that it is no use 
putting the feet wide apart unless the tips of the 
skis are close together (closer than Plate XX., 
p. 139). 

You can start snow-ploughing from a standstill 
on a steep slope either by taking the position 



BEARING 127 

of Plate XIII. and pushing the upper ski round 
to the proper angle as you throw your weight 
on to it, or simply by thrusting both sticks 
into the snow below you and leaning on them 
while you put the skis in position. 

If, for structural reasons, you have only been 
able to take an academic interest in the instruc- 
tions for snow- ploughing in soft snow, you can 
now learn a manoeuvre which will enable you in 
soft snow of any depth to stem as gradually or 
as steeply as you choose down a slope of any 
steepness. 

Telemark Stemming, — Find a steepish slope 
which is soft enough to prevent the least tendency 
to side-slip. Stand with the skis horizontal. 
Weight the lower, and place the upper one at 
an angle which will let it slide freely, as you did 
in learning ordinary stemming, but this time with 
its front bend touching the lower ankle, and its tip 
rather across the lower instep. Edge it normally, 
kneel down on the front of it, and slide off by 
flattening the other (Fig. 30). You are now 
stemming in what is practically Telemark posi- 
tion ; the object of actually kneeling on the upper 
ski is to save effort, which, of course, it does 
completely. It also gives the utmost steadiness. 
The centre of gravity being so low, you can in 



128 



HOW TO SKI 



this position stop yourself much more suddenly 
with safety than you can in either snow-ploughing 
or ordinary stemming, and can also more safely 
take up the stemming position while running 
freely — if, of course, you then take the ordinary 




Stopping. 

R. Unweighted. 

L. Weighted and edged 



Going. 
R. Weighted. 



L. Unweighted and flattened. 
Fig. 30. — Telemark-stemming. 



Telemark position and kneel right down first. 
In order to stem straight downhill you must 
place the upper ski at right angles to the hori- 
zontal lower ski (you may have to get it in 
position with your hand before starting from a 
standstill on a steep slope) ; its point will then be 





Stemming with one ski, or start of a down- 
hill stemming-turn to left.— (xxii.) 



Downhill stemming-turn to left : halfway 
round.— (XXIII.) 




Finish of stemming-turn to left. — (xxiv.) 




Unsuccessful stemming-lurn lo lelt : result ot wiong balance or 
position.— (XXV.) 



.JL 



Track of downhill stemming-turns.— (xxvi.) 



BRAKING 129 

right across the front instep. The front leg will 
be quite straight and the foot, of course, turned 
right inwards — a position which may sound 
awkward, but which most people find surpris- 
ingly easy, especially on a steep slope. If you 
want to stop suddenly, straighten — or rather, 
diminish the bend of — the upper leg, lifting its 
knee from the ski and throwing yourself well 
forward on to the lower one. And always re- 
member to face round quickly towards its point 
as you do so, and to bring the other ski smartly 
to normal position by its side. 

Telemark-stemming straight downhill is not 
only easy in the softest snow, but also on 
everything but the very hardest, no matter 
how steep the slope. 

This manoeuvre, in fact, is an extremely useful 
one (though neither I nor, I believe, any other 
writer on ski-ing had the sense to realise its 
value until Herr Bilgeri pointed it out), and 
you should lose no time in mastering it — not 
that it takes much mastering, for the average 
beginner can do it with ease at the first 
attempt. It is no use, however, for traversing, 
either steeply or gradually, on hard snow, 
for the upper ski is then very apt to side -slip 
and upset the runner. Nor on very hard and 



I30 HOW TO SKI 

slippery snow is it suitable even for a direct 
descent, as it is then difficult to hold enough 
weight on the stemming ski to keep the pace 
down. On this sort of snow, however, as long 
as it gives any grip at all — and, when it does 
not, it is no longer snow, but ice, for which skis 
are not intended — you can descend the steepest 
slopes either directly or obliquely with your speed 
under perfect control by 

Side-Slipping. — In order to side-slip straight 
downhill you simply stand with your skis hori- 
zontal and rather apart, and start by flattening 
them a little and throwing your weight well 
outwards, as if you wanted to go fast down 
the hill, not slowly. You will then not go fast, 
but will keep your weight over your skis and 
be able by edging them again to check your 
pace or stop when you want to. If you want 
to stop suddenly, give a little jump and stamp 
the ski edges hard into the snow. Do not be 
too anxious to go slowly, or in the effort to 
edge the skis extra hard you will probably 
lean towards the slope, push them from under 
you, and fall down. The skis must remain 
horizontal as they slip ; if they begin to turn 
upwards or downwards, put weight on the toes 
or heels respectively. If by weighting the toes 



BRAKING 131 

you make the skis point downwards a little 
they will slide forwards as well as sideways, 
and the more they are then edged the more 
they will move forwards in comparison with 
their sideway motion. By side-slipping, there- 
fore, you can traverse slowly at any angle you 
choose if the slope is fairly steep. 

You can also stop yourself by side-slipping if 
you wish to when running a free traverse in 
normal position. You merely have to make 
the skis side-slip and instantly put your weight 
on the heels until they turn uphill a little, when 
you can again edge and stop them. 

A little practice will make the whole manoeuvre 
almost instantaneous ; it is then really a Chris- 
tiania swing (see p. 175), and, if the snow is not 
very soft, is a far quicker and easier way than 
ordinary stemming or stopping or checking the 
pace for a moment. Throw your weight well 
outwards to keep it over your skis as they 
side-slip ; your tendency at first will be to fall 
towards the hill. 

If you ever wish to make a stemming traverse 
at a steep angle on a moderate slope where the 
snow though hard is not quite slippery enough 
for you to side-slip down it, you may be some- 
what at a loss. In the Telemark position you 



132 HOW TO SKI 

will find a tendency to side-slip, and you may, 
in the ordinary stemming position, with the 
lower ski held horizontally and the weight on 
the upper one, be unable to manage the neces- 
sary squatting attitude comfortably. You can 
then traverse in something between the ordinary 
stemming and the snow-plough positions with 
the upper ski edged outwards and pointing the 
way you are going, but with the weight almost 
equally distributed between it and the lower, 
which points somewhat downhill instead of 
horizontally and is held with its tip level with 
the other's, not ahead. The upper knee must 
be bent, the lower straight. 

We have so far talked only of hard and soft 
snow, but the snow surface is sometimes a break- 
able crust, into which the skis cut, and in which 
no sort of stemming is possible. Your only way 
of going slowly in this is to traverse at a very 
slight angle ; if you then want to stop, you must 
step round — that is, you must lift the upper 
ski, put it down again pointing horizontally 
across the slope, and instantly lift the lower 
and bring it down parallel with the first. Be 
careful to throw your weight well upwards and 
forwards as you put down the upper ski, and 
not to let the lower remain on the snow for 



BEARING 133 

a moment after the first has been brought to 
it again ; it is safest to give a little jump from 
one to the other. 

Either by stepping round, or by any sort of 
stemming, you can of course make a change of 
direction when traversing if the gradient of the 
slope varies ; as you pass on to steeper ground, 
for instance, you can weight the heel of the 
stemming ski for a moment until it is again hori- 
zontal, at the same time flattening the running 
ski a little and letting it slip down to the angle 
at which it was pointing before. This is really 
an embryo swing, as you will see later ; one 
important reason, in fact, for learning all the 
methods of braking thoroughly is that they are 
the elements of which the swings are composed, 
each variety of swing or turn being either a 
development of one method of braking, or a 
combination of one with another. 

When you become more expert you will not 
often have to stem while traversing if the ground 
is open, though even then you will often find 
it convenient to brake in one way or other when 
going straight downhill. In thick wood, how- 
ever, you will find it indispensable to be able 
to go at a moderate speed in all sorts of snow 
and at any gradient. It is also worth re- 



134 HOW TO SKI 

membering that to stem straight downhill at an 
ordinary pace is a comparatively fast process. 
It is not so pretty and needs much less skill, 
but it is quicker than running freely in tacks 
of an ordinary gradient and connecting them 
by downhill turns (explained later). 

When running down a narrow path or the 
like it is sometimes impossible to brake effectually, 
as there is not room to put the skis in a wide 
V position or to Telemark-stem ; it may then 
be permissible to use the stick or sticks as an 
aid. Plate XXI. shows a way of doing this. 
The arm supported against the thigh gives a firm 
purchase — firm enough, in my experience, to hurt 
the wrist a good deal if the points of the sticks 
catch something hard. This manoeuvre is hardly 
ever necessary unless the path is very icy; if 
there is much of this, and you want to go slowly, 
you may just as well walk with your skis on your 
shoulder. 

When you can do all that has been explained 
so far, you may (if you have steadily refrained 
from using your stick except as I have directed) 
consider yourself quite a respectable ski-runner 
in a small way. There will be nothing to prevent 
you from going for any expedition of which the 
uphill climb is within your powers, for whether 



BEARING 135 

you are going uphill or downhill, there is no sort 
of ground that cannot be negotiated by one or 
other of the manoeuvres that I have described. 

But, though a perfectly efficient tourist, you 
will not be a very fast one downhill until you 
have learnt how to stop and steer yourself in 
any sort of snow, when running fast, and will 
tire yourself unnecessarily on steep or difficult 
ground until you can run in zigzags without 
coming to a standstill between each tack. 

The different ways of doing these things are 
described in the following sections. 



136 HOW TO SKI 



THE STEMMING TURN 

I must here apologise for the extreme ambiguity 
of ski-ing terminology, which, however, as I did 
not invent it, I have not the moral courage to try 
to improve. The term "stemming" may be 
used in several different senses. In its narrow- 
est sense it means holding the skis in the V 
position and braking with one of them. More 
broadly it means braking with both in the V 
position. It also means braking with the skis 
in Telemark position. In fact in its broadest 
sense it means any sort of braking except side- 
slipping with the skis parallel. 

In this sense almost any method of turning on 
skis might, as we shall see later, be called a 
"stemming" turn. The expression "stemming 
turn," however, is generally used in a special 
sense to denote a turn during which the skis 
are held in the V position with the feet nearly 
level. 

By means of a " stemming turn " you can, as 
you already know, turn uphill or stop when 
traversing; you can also do so from a direct 
descent. You can, moreover, turn downhill from 




Downhill stemming-turn to left in soft snow (note wide stride and 
edged skis). — (xxvii.) 




•A 4 



Ummi^ I f\ 




How noi to make a stemming-turn. — (xxviii.) 



THE STEMMING TURN 137 

a traverse until you face in the opposite direc- 
tion and run off on a new tack. 

This turn is effected by putting the skis in a 
more or less wide V position, and either simul- 
taneously or immediately afterwards weighting 
and slightly advancing the one that is to be 
outermost in turning. To show how in this as 
in all turns the various factors of side-slipping, 
with the weight variously distributed, combined 
steering action of both skis, edging, &c., come 
into play according to circumstances, it will 
be necessary to describe in detail the two dif- 
ferent uses of the turn. 

For practising these turns find a moderate 
slope and snow in which it is easy to stem 
when running straight downhill; a much trod- 
den practice-ground is the very thing. 

Uphill Turn to the Left. — You already know 
how to turn uphill from a traverse by stemming ; 
the following way of doing it is slightly simpler. 
Traverse to the left at an easy gradient in normal 
position, weight on right foot. When you want 
to turn, draw the upper ski a little to the rear 
(Fig. 31, 1) and then push the heels wide 
apart, straightening both legs and putting all 
the weight on the lower heel (Fig. 31, <5 and 
3). As the lower ski begins to turn uphill, bring 



138 HOW TO SKI 

the other one smartly to its side again in normal 
position. 

This is much the same thing as stopping 
when stemming with the lower ski, as described 
above (page 121), but is rather simpler, for the 
uncomfortable crouching position necessary when 
stemming with the lower ski is avoided, there 
is no shifting of the weight from one ski to the 




Fig. 31. — Uphill stemming turn to left.* 

other, and the preparatory movement of draw- 
ing back the upper ski can perfectly well be 
made simultaneously with the actual turn. 

To make an uphill stemming turn when run- 
ning across a slope in normal position is rather 
a clumsy process, and it is quite unnecessary 
to spend much time in practising it, for an 
uphill turn from a traverse can be made more 
easily and effectively by the Christiania swing, 
in the way already explained, or the Telemark, 
which will be described later. Just make sure, 

^ The blackened parts are those which should be weighted. 



THE STEMMING TUEN 



139 



however, that you can turn uphill in this way 
from a traverse in either direction, and then 
try the turn from a direct descent, as follows. 

Run straight downhill in the stemming position 
with the weight equally on both skis and the feet 
as wide apart as possible, taking care that the 
legs are quite straight at 
the knee, and rigid (Fig. 
32, 1), 

In order to turn to the 
left (most people find it 
easiest to learn to turn to 
this side first) you have 
simply to throw all the 
weight on to the heel of 
the right foot and turn the 
body to face the point of Fia. 32.--Upiiiu stemming 
the right ski. You will tTimtoieft.^ 

begin to turn to the left, and as you do so the 
left foot will involuntarily fall slightly to the 
rear (^), when the steering action due to the 
relative position of the skis will help the turn. 

If you keep all the weight on the heel of 
the right foot you will go on turning until 
the right ski points slightly uphill, when you 
will come to a standstill (5). As you do so, 

^ The blackened parts are those which should be weighted. 




140 HOW TO SKI 

be sure to bring the inner ski quickly to the 
normal position. 

This is extremely simple, and, if you keep 
both legs quite straight and the feet wide 
apart, you can hardly fail to do it correctly. 

The mistake you are most likely to make is 
that of letting the left knee bend as you begin 
to come round. If it does so the left ski 
will get on its outside edge, and, instead of 
continuing to skid round, will only run in the 
direction in which it is pointing, so that if it 
does not run across the other (Plate XXV.), and 
throw you down,^ you will find yourself running 
obliquely across the slope, stemming with the 
right ski only instead of turning uphill and 
stopping. 

It is not sufficient, however, to keep the 
inner leg straight, for unless at the same time 
you keep nearly all weight oif it, either the 
left ski will get in front and you will begin to 
face downhill again, or it will get too much on 
to its inside edge, and will at least prevent you 
from finishing the turn, even if it does not trip 
you up. 

As soon as you can turn to the left in this 

^ If, when one ski crosses the other, you put (or keep) all your 
weight on the one that is undermost, you can easily withdraw the 
other and save yourself from falling. 



THE STEMMING TURN 141 

way, learn to turn to the right, of course sub- 
stituting ''right" for ''left" and "left" for 
"right" in the directions. 

If, while running straight downhill, you turn 
and come to a standstill in the way I have 
described, you will, when you have stopped, find 
yourself a certain distance to one side or the 
other of your original course. 

This may not always be convenient ; you may, 
for instance, want to stop while running down 
an icy road, fenced on each side, and so narrow 
that you have only just room enough to stem, 
and would run into the fence if you swung to 
one side in stopping. 

In a case of this sort you can turn suddenly 
and stop in your tracks in the following way : — 

Suppose you are running straight downhill 
in the double -stemming position ; when you want 
to stop, give a vigorous push with one foot — say 
the left — and so throw all your weight suddenly 
right outwards on to the heel of the right foot, 
turning the body quickly well round to the left 
as you do so. If this is done with force and 
decision the right ski skids round quickly to a 
horizontal position, and as it does so, the left ski 
comes into the air, is lifted smartly round, and 
brought down parallel with and close to the 



142 



HOW TO SKI 



other one. You then find yourself at a stand- 
still, facing to the left across your original track, 
but without having moved to one side of it 
(Fig. 33). 

Just at first you may fail to do this properly 
through giving a timid, 
jerky push with the left 
foot instead of a steady 
thrust. This will prevent 
your weight from going 
sufficiently outwards over 
the right ski, and the left 
ski will come to the snow 
again before you have had 
time to lift it round to the 
side of the other one and 
before that one has had 
time to skid round to right 
angles with your course. After a very few trials, 
however, you should be able to do it correctly, 
and you will then find that no great force is neces- 
sary, and that the movement need not even be 
made particularly quickly provided it be done 
with a free swing. In order to give the push you 
must, of course, bend the inside knee slightly. 
Provided the inner ski is brought parallel to 




Fig. 33. — Uphill stemming 
turn to left.i 



The blackened parts are those which should be weighted. 



THE STEMMING TUEN 143 

the outer one, it does not matter if it comes to the 
snow again hefore the latter has skidded round 
to right angles, for then the turn can be finished 
with both skis side-slipping together — that is 
to say, the turn can begin as a stemming turn 
and finish as a Christiania, a most useful combi- 
nation which is beginning to be known by the 
dreadful name " Stemmiania,'' which I only quote 
in order to record my dislike for it. 

This way of making the turn is practically 
instantaneous, and is so convenient that when 
you have once learnt it you will hardly ever use 
the one I described first. By means of it you 
can stop suddenly when moving at a very fair 
rate, especially if you stem hard with both skis 
Well edged inwards just before making the turn. 

Practise this movement without skis at first, 
and then at a standstill with skis, on the most 
slippery snow you can find, trying to make the 
outer ski spin right round to right angles. 

These uphill stemming turns enable you to 
stop yourself wherever the quality of the snow 
and the gradient allow you to hold the double- 
stemming position while running straight down- 
hill. It is no use attempting to make them on 
very steep slopes or in snow into which the skis 
sink deeply ; in either of these cases you will 



144 HOW TO SKI 

have to stop yourself by means of the Telemark 
or Christiania swings, described later. 

I need hardly say that if you merely wish to 
alter your course and not to stop yourself, you 
can finish the turn at any point. You either 
wait until the outer, weighted ski is pointing in 
the direction you want to go, and then bring the 
other ski parallel to it in the normal position 
and run on at full speed ; or, if you still wish 
to brake, you turn rather farther until the 
inner ski is in line with your intended course, 
and then shift the weight partly or entirely to 
that one and run on stemming. 

Doumhill Turn to the Left, — A turn made in a 
downward direction in order to join one tack to 
another when descending a hill in zigzags is often 
called an *'S" turn, on account of the shape of 
the track left by a number of these turns made 
in alternate directions (Plates XXVI,, XXXIII., 
XLIL). 

Any downhill turn, therefore, whether made 
by the stemming turn or by any other means, 
can be called an " S " turn. A good many people, 
however, having never seen a downhill turn made 
by any other means than the stemming turn — 
or at least the awkward manoeuvre which the 
average runner imagines to be the stemming 




''1 



2g 

t/l 




\. 



Downhill Telemark swing to left.— (xxxii.) 



lu. , UluJk,a^.. V LJuUH- ^i^,!^ .. /S^ 1 




Track of downhill Telemark swings.— (xxxiii. 



STEMMING TUEN 



145 



turn — believe "S" turn and stemming turn to 
be synonymous. 

As will be seen later on, a downhill or *' S " 
turn can quite well be made by means of the 
Telemark or Christiania 
swings, the "S" having 
no reference whatever to 
stemming. 

To avoid confusion, I 
shall not use the term 
" S " turn at all, but only 
speak of a downhill turn. 

The best way to prac- 
tise the turn at first is to 
run, as before, straight 
downhill in the double 
stemming position for a 
few yards, then throw 
the weight on the left 
ski as if you meant to 
turn uphill to the right 
and stop (Fig. 34, i and 2), but just before the 
left ski points horizontally across the hill, 
transfer the weight to the heel of the right 
foot, and face round to the left a little. 

You will find yourself beginning to turn down- 

^ The blackened parts are those Avhich should be weighted. 

K 




Fig. 34, — Downhill stemming 
turn to left (3,4, and 5).^ 



146 HOW TO SKI 

hill again — the left ski falling a little behind the 
other as you do so — and by keeping the weight 
on the right foot you will go round until you face 
across the slope in the opposite direction (Fig. 34, 
3, 4-, and 5), when you can shift the weight to 
the left foot and reverse the process. 

By repeating this you will descend the hill in 
short zigzags. 

The important points are — (1) to hold the 
stemming position unaltered with the knees 
straight, the heels of the skis wide apart, and the 
tips close together ; (2) to throw the weight well 
on to the outer ski ; and (3) not to let the inner 
ski get in front. 

The last half of the turn, from the point at 
which you are facing straight downhill, is, of 
course, really an uphill one, identical with what 
you have already learnt, and can be finished at 
any point in any of the ways already described. 

You can start a downhill turn, like an uphill 
one, from the normal position while running 
across a slope, and under these conditions the 
turn is, as in the case of the uphill one, rather 
less easy ; this time, however, it is extremely 
important to be able to do it, for this is by far 
the most useful application of the stemming 
turn, and you can in this way, provided the si^ow 



STEMMING TURN 147 

be suitable, join one tack to another on a slope 
of any steepness, where it would be impossible 
to run straight downhill in double stemming 
position. 

Suppose you wish to start a downhill turn to 
the left while running at a gentle gradient across 
a slope in the normal position {i.e. with the 
weight on the left foot and the right foot in 
front), the first thing to do is to turn the right 
knee and ankle inwards so as to lift the outer edge 
of the ski as much as possible. Then, keeping 
the point of the right ski ahead of the other, 
push its heel uphill and out to the position of 
2, Fig. 35, B, at the same time weighting the 
toe of the left foot and slightly flattening that 
ski, which will then begin to point downwards 
and give the other more room to turn. As 
they turn downwards push their heels wide 
apart and throw your weight quickly outwards 
so that a final thrust of the left leg sends it 
full on to the right heel just as you face straight 
downhill. Almost simultaneously lift the left 
ski round to the side of the other and finish 
the turn with the skis parallel. 

As you lift the inner ski turn (not lean) the 
body inwards just enough to face squarely 
towards the point of the outer ski. 



148 



HOW TO SKI 



If you turn slowly there will be an interval 
between the pushing round of the outer ski and 
the final thrust of the inner leg during which 
the skis will be equally weighted. If you turn 
sharply while running fast the checking of the 
outer ski's speed as it comes broadside on will 
throw the weight on it at once and lift the 
inner ski without an effort. 




•*^.'*«- 



Fig. 35. — Downhill stemming turn to left (two methods).^ 

It is also possible to make the turn by putting 
the weight on the outer ski before it begins to 
stem at all, and making it turn downhill by 
pressing on the toe (as in Fig. 35, a). I used to 
think this method the easier of the two, but 

^ The blackened parts are those which should he weighted. 



STEMMING TURN 149 

have changed my mind about it, and can only 
apologise for leading people astray. 

Up to this point you have been practising 
on moderate slopes only, but it is on steep slopes 
that you will generally have to use the downhill 
stemming turn, and it is on steep slopes that you 
should practise it the instant that you can do it 
neatly on a gentle one. 

You will then find a difficulty that has prob- 
ably not bothered you much so far. On a 
steep slope, as you begin to turn downhill, the 
increase of speed is sudden and considerable, and 
if you do not compensate for this by throwing 
the weight more and more forwards, the skis 
will shoot from under you, and you will sit 
down. 

Don't, however, begin leaning downhill too 
soon, while still facing across the slope, for that 
will throw the weight on to the inside (lower) 
ski. Simply lean as far forwards over the front 
of your skis as possible, so that as they turn 
downhill your weight will be well over them. 

The difficulty of leaning forward sufficiently 
on a steep slope is partly due to the tendency 
to stand with the weight vertically above the 
feet, as one would do when walking downhill. 
The very best plan for overcoming this difficulty, 



150 HOW TO SKI 

and one which will make it infinitely easier for 
you to perform the turn quickly and correctly, 
is to keep your eyes fixed on the ground at your 
feet while you are turning, and to imagine that 
it is almost or quite level. You will then 
naturally hold yourself at right angles to the 
slope no matter how steep that may be. 

You will find this downhill turn of very little 
practical use on a steep slope until you can make 
it quite shortly and sharply ; for if you make 
a long curve, the pace increases so much in the 
middle of it that you are almost sure to lose 
control, and fail to finish the turn, even if you 
do not fall down. 

The reason why to lift round the inner ski at 
the middle of the turn is safer than to keep 
it on the snow throughout is because the curve 
is thus considerably shortened. 

The act of suddenly throwing yourself very 
far forward over the front of your skis as you 
face downhill will make them hang back a little 
for an instant — all the more so for the fact that 
at this point the stemming action of both is 
at its maximum — and at this moment it is easy 
to give a push with, and then to lift round, the 
inner ski. 

Be careful, in lifting the ski round, to bring 



STEMMING TURN 151 

it down again exactly parallel to the outer ski ; 
for the inner one, if it comes down pointing 
towards the outer one, will instantly run across 
it and upset you ; while if pointing away, it will 
run uphill and draw your feet apart with a jerk 
that will probably have the same result. 

Although, as I have said, you should turn the 
body a little in throwing the weight outwards, it is 
no use attempting to lean or swing it the way you 
want to go. You must simply throw it forwards 
and outwards — that is, rather away from where 
you want to go. If you lean the way you want 
to go you will simply put weight on the inner ski, 
which will then either trip you up or make you 
run away straight downhill instead of finishing 
the turn. Indeed, paradoxical as it may sound, 
you should, in a sense, try not to turn ; manoeuvre 
your skis as I have directed, and try to keep a 
straight course, turning sideways as you do so, 
and you will probably come round without diffi- 
culty. 

The faster you are running at the moment 
of beginning the turn, the more difficulty you 
will at first have in making it. 

You had better, therefore, when learning it, 
run at a gradient which will only just allow 
you to keep moving smoothly (I am speaking 



152 HOW TO SKI 

of the gradient of your course across the slope, 
not of the gradient of the slope itself), otherwise, 
before beginning the turn, you may be inclined 
to stem with the lower ski in order to check the 
pace, and, when the lower ski is put in stem- 
ming position before the other is pushed round, 
there is a tendency for the weight to get too 
far back in the effort of starting the turn, which 
then misses fire. If you are bound to slow up 
before you begin the turn, do so by side-slipping 
with both skis and turning a little uphill {i.e. 
make a slight Christiania swing) as described in 
the last section, p. 131. 

On an icy and steep slope it is, of course, 
especially necessary to make the turn very sharply 
if you are not to lose control in the middle 
of it. You can do this by running very slowly 
before turning, and then quickly putting the upper 
ski far round, and simultaneously weighting it 
by means of what is practically a jump from the 
other ski, which comes into the air almost before 
the first is weighted, and is brought down 
parallel with it almost instantly. This is well 
worth practising assiduously, for it makes all the 
difierence to the safety of a turn on very steep 
and 'icy ground. 

Do not be contented until you can make a 



STEMMING TUEN 153 

short, sharp turn (both to right and left, of course) 
with perfect steadiness, on the steepest slope 
you can find. For although on steep slopes a 
Telemark or Christiania swing is the best way 
of making an uphill turn, there is no means so 
reHable as the stemming turn for turning down- 
hill, no matter how steep the slope, provided the 
snow is hard, or that, if soft, it is shallow. It 
is almost useless, though, to attempt it in deep 
soft snow. At the best you will probably only 
get half-way round with an uncomfortable effort, 
and then the inner ski will be forced back, and 
come round after the other in Telemark position, 
in which, as you will find later, it might just as 
well have started. 

At the worst you may be tempted to drag 
yourself round with the stick in the position 
shown in the photograph (Plate XXVIII.). 

This position, which, I hope, is becoming less 
fashionable, is the very essence of incorrectness 
and awkwardness, and is an infallible sign 
either of poor nerve or of bad teaching. Here 
the weight falls principally on the inside ski 
and the stick, instead of entirely on the outer 
ski, while the skis are held parallel, or nearly 
so, instead of in the V position. The general 
position is a crouching one with the knees 



154 HOW TO SKI 

bent, instead of an erect one with straight 
and rigid legs ; except for a feeble stemming 
action of the outer ski, which is too much edged, 
the turning effect is entirely due to the drag 
of the stick. Those who make use of this 
method generally refer to it as a stemming turn, 
" S " turn, or Alpine curve, using either of these 
terms in contradistinction to the terms ^'Tele- 
mark " and *' Christiania," evidently under the 
impression that an *'S" curve can only be 
made by stemming, and that by means of the 
Telemark or Christiania it is only possible to 
turn uphill and stop. The only correct title 
for this manoeuvre is *' stick turn." 

When I say that this method is awkward and 
incorrect, I do not merely mean that it is ugly, 
for I suppose that to the unsophisticated eye its 
attitude is no more ugly than the exaggerated 
straddle of the correct stemming position. There 
are two strong reasons for considering it execrable 
in style and utterly to be avoided. 

In the first place it is a waste of energy, 
because it takes a considerable muscular effort 
to make a turn in this way, even when the snow 
is easy, and an exhausting one when it is not ; 
while by substituting correct methods one can 
always turn without the smallest strain. The 



STEMMING TURN 155 

second objection to it is that it is inefficient, for 
by turning in this way it is impossible to make a 
short curve, especially in deep soft snow ; and 
until a runner can turn sharply in snow of any 
quality and on a slope of any steepness (I do 
not say at any speed), he by no means can be 
said to have proper control of his skis. I do 
not for a moment deny that it is the easiest way 
of turning, in the sense that it is the one re- 
quiring the least skill. But any one who knows 
what can be done by correct methods, who has 
ordinary nerve, and who does not look on ski- 
running solely as a means of locomotion, for which 
a technique demanding the minimum of skill is 
the one to be preferred, will shun the ** stick 
turn" as he would the pestilence. 

Finally, let me remind you once more that in 
stemming — and this holds equally good whether 
you are turning or going straight ahead — the 
skis should never be quite flat ; their outer 
edges must be lifted a little even when the snow 
is easy, rather more so when it is not (see 
p. 83). 

To be quite accurate I ought to have said the 
skis must not be kept flat, for obviously they 
must during a downhill turn each pass through 
the flat position, since their edging, on the tack 



156 HOW TO SKI 

before the turn, is the reverse of what it is on the 
tack that follows it. This change of edge, as a 
matter of fact, constitutes one of the difficulties 
of the turn. The outer ski makes the change 
easily enough, for the outer ankle (which is bent 
inwards in order to start the turn) does not have 
to alter its position while the change of edge 
takes place. But the inner ski, if kept on the 
snow throughout the turn, is by no means easy 
to manage at the moment that the change has to 
be made. This ski remains on its inside edge 
until nearly the end of the turn, and if allowed 
to remain so for a moment too long is very apt to 
catch on this edge and run across the other or 
refuse to come round, especially on a steep slope, 
if (as he should have done) the runner has made 
a very wide straddle when facing straight down- 
hill. 

This difficulty is entirely avoided when the 
turn is finished by the lifting of the inner ski 
(the change of edge then taking place, so to 
speak, in the air). Indeed, although this lifting 
of the ski may sound somewhat acrobatic to any 
one who has not tried it, it is really quite the 
reverse. It needs far less adroitness than does a 
neat and steady finish of the turn with the ski 
kept on the snow, and is, in fact, not only the 



STEMMING TURN 157 

quicker and more effective, but also considerably 
the easier and safer of the two methods. 

The runner can only make a true stemming 
turn when going at a moderate pace. By finishing 
it as a Christiania, however, he can turn either 
uphill or downhill when going much faster. In 
fact the sooner the skis are brought parallel, the 
greater the pace at which the turn can be started ; 
at very high speeds only a trifling preliminary 
stem being either necessary or safe. 

Short Directions for a Downhill Stemming 
Turn to the Left, 

From normal running position, right foot lead- 
ing, left weighted. 

Bending and turning inwards right knee, ankle, 
and foot, push heel of right ski outwards and 
forwards to the widest possible stemming position 
— its tip close to but ahead of the other's — at 
the same time slightly flattening the left ski and 
pressing on its toe. As the skis turn downwards 
push their heels wide apart, quickly shift your 
weight forwards and outwards, and, with a push 
from the inner ski, throw it full on the right heel 
as you face straight downhill — at the same time 
lifting the left ski quickly round to the side of 



158 HOW TO SKI 

the other and finishing the turn with the skis 
parallel. 

When moving slowly this is to be done in two 
motions ; when moving fast, in one continuous 
one. 

Fix the eyes on the tips of the skis and try to 
lean in that direction only, not inwards. 

N,B. — The latter half of this turn is, of course, 
really an uphill one, separate directions for which 
are therefore unnecessary. 




Starting an uphill Christiania swing to the 
right from traversing. — (xxxiv.) 




Starting an uphill Christiania swing to the 
right from a direct descent — (xxxv.) 




Finish of uphill Christiania swing to right. 

—(XXXVI.) 




Bad finish of uphill Christiania swing to right. 
— (XXXVII.) 



TELEMAEK SWING 159 



THE TELEMARK SWING 

Although by stemming you can make either 
up or downhill turns with perfect ease either on 
a hard icy surface or in shallow loose snow, you 
will find it very difficult, if not impossible, to make 
a stemming turn in loose snow of more than a 
certain depth or density — unless you drag your- 
self round with the stick. By means of the 
Telemark swing, however, you can easily make 
turns in any sort of loose snow, and can do so 
on any slope, no matter how steep it may be. 

If you can already both run and stem in the 
Telemark position, with either foot leading, you 
will find it a very simple matter to learn the 
swing. In fact you may be said to have learnt 
it after a fashion, for to stop by Telemark stem- 
ming is to make a clumsy Telemark uphill turn. 
For practising this swing, find a moderate slope 
where the snow is soft and, for choice, deep 
or dense enough to make a stemming turn 
difficult. 

Uphill Turn to the Left. — Run at a gentle 
gradient across the slope with the hill on your 
left and the weight on the lower (right) foot, 



i6o 



HOW TO SKI 



not, however, in the normal position, with the 
left foot advanced, but in the Telemark position, 
with the right foot leading. 

The left ski should then be so far back that its 
bend is level with the right ankle, the left heel 

I 

A 




Fig. 36. — Uphill Telemark swings to left (A from a traversing, 
B from a direct descent).^ 



should be raised, and the left leg perfectly relaxed, 
with the knee nearly touching the ski. The 
right knee should be perpendicularly over the 
foot, and both hnees be pressed inwards. This is 
only preparatory, and you should, in this position, 
be able to run directly across the slope at what- 
ever gradient you choose. 

^ The blackened parts are those which should be weighted. 




Start of a downhill Christiania swing to 
right.— (xxxviii.) 




Bad finish of uphill Christiania swing to right. 
— (xxxix.) 




Uphill Christiania swing to right (seen from above). — ^XL.) 




Finish of uphill Christiania swing to right (seen from below). — (XLI.) 



TELEMARK SWING i6i 

As soon as you are fairly under weigh, make 
the swing as follows : 

Turn the right knee and foot a little inwards, 
placing the front ski slightly at an angle with 
the other ; at the same time edge the right ski 
inwards and put the whole weight on the right 
heel^ pressing it down and trying to lift the 
toes. 

You will at once begin to turn uphill. The 
moment you start turning lean more Jorwards 
and face full towards the point of the front ski. 
As you stop moving weight the toe of the front 
foot, press the back knee inwards, and so bring 
the skis parallel. 

Unless you are on the look-out for it, you will 
find a tendency, as you begin the turn, to lean 
inwards (towards the hill), or backwards, putting 
weight on the left foot, and at the same time to 
straighten the right knee and relax the right 
ankle, more or less flattening the ski (Plate XXX.). 
As a result you will, if you do not fall inwards at 
once, probably finish the swing in an awkward 
straddled position, the right ski pointing uphill, 
almost at right angles to the other ski, which will 
not have altered its direction, and the weight on 
both feet. Or else you will find that the weight 
on the left ski will make it run up level with the 



i62 HOW TO SKI 

other again, which will prevent you from turning, 
or across it, which will throw you down. 

It will help you to avoid this inward lean 
if you remember that, as explained on p. 82, 
your right ski in turning does not cut round 
directly as a skate does, but slips sideways as 
well as forwards, and that, therefore, during the 
swing your right foot, instead of moving more 
and more to the left of your original line of 
progress, will at first move to the right of, or 
below it ; and, if the hill is steep or the snow 
shallow, will hardly be above it even at the end 
of the swing. It is obvious, then, that if 
you are to remain properly balanced on your 
right ski, very little inward lean is necessary, 
and the usual directions for leaning the body 
inwards while making the swing are most 
misleading. In fact, although one really has to 
lean inwards when the turn has begun, the 
instinct to avoid an outward fall makes one 
overdo this to such an extent that at first it 
is better to try to throw the weight rather to 
the right and outwards, downhill (but well 
forwards), in order to get the proper balance. 

In the Telemark swing the edging of the 
leading ski is an important factor in the turn, 
and there is more forward motion in proportion 



TELEMARK SWING 163 

to the side-slip than in the stemming turn, which 
is almost entirely a skidding turn. Indeed, 
when the swing is made while running fast in 
deep soft snow (which reduces the side-slip to 
a minimum), the runner, as he comes at right 
angles to his original course at the end of the 
swing, may find it necessary to lean consciously 
inwards, but only at the end — never under any 
circumstances at the beginning of the swing. 

In this swing, as in the stemming turn, it 
is a mistake, when practising, to look the way 
you want to go, as is sometimes advised. You 
must only look the way you are actually going 
at the moment — i.e, rather to the outside of the 
point of the leading ski. 

It is also useless to try to force the turn 
by swinging the body or in any other way ; 
and, as in the stemming turn, it is better to 
think nothing at all about turning, simply 
confining your attention to the weighting and 
position of the skis, and trying, in a sense, to 
go straight on. The great thing at first is to 
prevent the weight getting back on the back 
foot. 

There is, of course, no real necessity for running 
in the Telemark position before beginning the 
swing, but to do so whilst learning it gives you 



1 64 HOW TO SKI 

less to think about when starting the turn. 
As soon as you get a little accustomed to it 
you can run in normal position with the upper 
foot leading until you wish to turn, and can then 
drop into Telemark position, lower foot leading, 
and begin the swing simultaneously. 

When you can make the swing to the left, run 
across the slope in the opposite direction, and 
learn to make it to the right in the same way 
(of course substituting "left" for "right" and 
" right " for " left " in the directions). 

When you can do this, practise it to the left 
again, this time running more directly downhill 
than at first, and then in the same way to the 
right, until you can at last swing to a stand- 
still either right or left when running straight 
downhill (Fig. 36, b). But do not, at any stage, 
run far before beginning to swing ; get fairly 
under weigh and make the swing, then run on 
and do it again, and so on until you have gone 
as far as you wish. In this way you will get 
less climbing uphill in proportion to the amount 
of practice. 

It is at the end of a swing made when running 
straight downhill that you are almost sure to 
find it necessary to lean inwards if the snow is 
deep and the speed high, but till you find a 



TELEMARK SWING 165 

distinct tendency to fall outwards you need not 
concern yourself about it. 

Of course, instead of coming to a standstill 
at the end of a swing, you can, if you wish, 
stop turning before the leading ski comes to 
a horizontal position, and can run on obliquely 
down the hill. In order to do this you have 
only, as soon as the leading ski is pointing the 
way you want to go, to shift the weight from 
the heel to the toe, stand erect, and bring the 
back ski to the front in the normal position. 

As soon as you can swing both to left and 
right when running straight downhill, learn to 
make a downhill turn (" S '' turn), which will 
enable you to join one tack to another when 
descending a slope in zigzags. 

Downhill Turn to the Left. — In this use of 
the swing the skis are held as before, and 
weighted in much the same way, but there are 
one or two points to be noticed. 

Run across the slope at a moderate gradient 
with the hill on your right, in Telemark position 
with the right foot leading (or start in normal 
position, and when you mean to turn, shift the 
weight from left foot to right and drop back 
the left ski). 

Then, lifting the outer edge of the right ski. 



i66 



HOW TO SKI 



turn the right foot and knee inwards, and so 
place the ski at a slight angle with the other, as 
in starting an uphill swing. But, while in an 
uphill swing this angle should be very slight 
indeed and the body should immediately turn 
towards the point of the front ski, in a downhill 




Fig. 37.— Downhill Telemark swing to left at various stages.^ 

swing the angle must be a trifle wider, and the 
body must remain facing the point of the hack 
ski until both have turned far enough for the 
front one to point nearly straight downhill. The 
stemming of the front ski, in fact, and the com- 
bined steering action of both, which in an uphill 
turn should hardly be perceptible, should in a 

^ The blackened parts are those which should be weighted. 



TELEMARK SWING 167 

downhill one be more pronounced. The weight, 
moreover, must just at first be placed on the 
toe of the front foot to help that ski to turn 
downwards. 

The moment you are fairly heading downhill, 
throw the whole weight on to the heel of the 
front ski, face towards its point, and finish the 
swing as before (Fig. 37). 

The faster you are running at the moment 
of beginning the swing, the sooner you can 
transfer the weight from the toe to the heel, 
and face in the direction of the leading ski ; in 
fact, from a very fast traverse, a downhill Tele • 
mark swing is practically made in exactly the 
same way as an uphill one, the preliminary stem 
of the front ski and the weighting of the toe 
being barely perceptible. 

In putting the weight on the toe at the 
beginning of the swing, take great care not 
to poke the foot forward, but to keep the knee 
well over it ; otherwise you are sure to take 
the weight right off it. 

Be on your guard also against the tendency 
to try to start the swing by leaning to the left, 
for, if you do this, you will either fall downhill or 
get the skis apart. Simply lean well forward, 
look in that direction only, and don't think of 



1 68 HOW TO SKI 

trying to turn, but rather try to go on across 
the slope, letting your skis carry you round. 

As you turn downwards of course the pace 
increases, and you must lean more forward, but 
you will find it less difficult to do this sufficiently 
during the Telemark swing than during a stem- 
ming turn. The great secret is to keep the right 
knee well forward over the foot, to try to lean 
over the front of the ski, and to keep your 
eyes on the ground at your feet, trying to 
imagine it flat, as I advised in the case of the 
stemming turn. 

The Telemark swing, when executed correctly, 
at high speed, requires no sustained muscular 
effort except that of holding the leading ski on its 
inside edge and pressing down the heel. In deep 
soft snow this is easy enough, if the knee is 
well over the leading foot and all the weight 
on that ski, but in shallow snow it is some- 
times difficult, at a high speed, to prevent the 
ankle from bending outwards, which flattens 
the ski and makes it skid outwards with an 
irregular, jerky movement, leaving the weight 
on the back foot. To prevent this, press the 
knee in well, turn the outside of the foot hard 
upwards, and press the toe upwards against 
the toe-strap. 



TELEMARK SWING 169 

This will give the sensation of grinding the 
inner side of the heel into the snow, and you 
should try to increase the pressure as the swing 
proceeds. 

Strictly speaking, a very slight flattening of 
the front ski hastens the start of an uphill swing 
from a traverse. But this flattening should be 
merely momentary, and it is so difficult to make 
it so and instantly to edge the ski again that it 
is safer to leave it out altogether. 

Neither allow the back ski to come forward to 
the normal position, nor weight it until the swing 
is quite finished and you are either standing still 
or running oif in a new direction. 

It may seem that, owing to the position, the 
Telemark swing calls for more delicate balancing 
than the other methods of turning. There is 
really not so much difference, for in either the 
stemming turn or, as will be seen later, in one 
form of the Christiania swing, when these are 
properly executed, the weight must for a time be 
balanced almost entirely on one ski. It is, how- 
ever, more difficult to avoid a fall in case of an 
error of balance or of unexpected side-slip in the 
Telemark swing than in the Christiania or stem- 
ming turns, for in the two latter the unweighted 
foot is in a position to receive the weight and 



170 HOW TO SKI 

help the balance, while in the former it can only 
do so in a very slight degree. Moreover, it is 
especially at the Jinish of the swing (when balanc- 
ing is most difficult), in the Telemark, that the 
weight must be entirely on the one ski, while 
both the Christiania and stemming turn can, and 
should, be finished with the weight equally on 
both. If, however, the Telemark is only em- 
ployed in soft snow of fair depth, the side-slip 
will be slight and perfectly regular, and for that 
reason will not disturb the balance much. 

On an icy surface, or in shallow loose snow, 
although it is easy enough to come round with 
a Telemark swing, the irregular side-slip as the 
swing ends makes it difficult to keep the balance ; 
but on snow of this kind, which is particularly 
suitable for the stemming turn or Christiania, 
there is no necessity to use the Telemark at all. 

Practise this swing at first on a moderate 
slope, and then on steeper ones, until you can 
finally make short downhill turns on the steepest 
slope you can find. But do not, at any rate at 
first, waste time in trying to learn it where the 
quality of snow makes it difficult. 

If at first, through nervousness or bad balance, 
you have much difficulty with the Telemark, you 
can learn it by easy stages either (1) from a 



TELEMARK SWING 171 

standstill, (2) from the snow-plough position, or 
(3) from Telemark stemming. 

(1) Place yourself in the starting position of 
Plate XIII. Throw your weight full on to 
the heel of the right ski, pushing it a trifle 
farther outwards as you do so, and sinking into 
Telemark position as it slides off. If you almost 
simultaneously face round towards its point and 
bring the other ski to its side by pressing the left 
knee inwards, you will swing round to the left to 
a standstill almost before you have moved. 

Or, holding yourself back with your sticks, you 
can place your skis in Telemark position, both 
pointing straight downhill. Then letting your 
sticks go, you can swing round instantly to a 
standstill. 

(2) While snow-ploughing straight downhill, 
throw the whole weight out on to the heel of one 
ski, turning towards its point as you do so, and 
dropping the other back into Telemark position. 
A downhill turn, in the same way, can, as I have 
already said, be started by snow -ploughing and 
finished as a Telemark. 

(3) To learn a downhill swing, traverse very 
slowly in Telemark position, upper ski leading, 
but kneeling down on and fully weighting the 
lower ski, then turn the upper ski steadily as 



172 HOW TO SKI 

far round as possible into Telemark stemming 
position pointing downhill, immediately after- 
wards shifting the weight gradually forwards on 
to it, but not letting the angle hetiveen the skis 
diminish until you are facing straight downhill, 
when you can turn towards the front ski's point 
and bring the other round parallel. 

I mention these kindergarten methods of 
learning the swing because I have found them 
really valuable for giving a nervous beginner 
confidence, but, if you try them, you must remem- 
ber that to start the swinor either from snow- 
ploughing or pronounced Telemark stemming is 
an exceedingly clumsy way of doing it, and only 
possible at very low speeds. 

There is always a suspicion of stemming at the 
start of even an expert's swing, and therefore, to 
be quite accurate, the weight is never entirely on 
the front ski at the outset, for it is of course 
impossible to place the front ski at an angle with 
the other without using the latter as a purchase, 
and so weighting it slightly. But the whole 
essence of a good swing, which c^n be made, 
steadily and easily, at top speed, is that the 
preliminary stem and consequent weighting of 
the back ski is reduced to a minimum — is in feet 
imperceptible, the runner s weight coming on to 



TELEMARK SWING 173 

the heel of the front ski at the very outset and 
being practically the sole factor in the turn. 

By means of this swing it is even possible to 
make turns in a breakable crust, if that is not 
very thick, and if great care is taken to hold 
and weight the skis correctly. 

The bend of the back ski must always be 
in contact with the front ankle. The back knee 
must therefore be pressed slightly inwards even 
when the skis are at an angle with each other. 

Short Directions for an Uphill Telemarh 
Swing to the Left 

Preparatory. — With the right foot leading 
and weighted sink to a semi-kneeling position, 
the right knee perpendicularly above the foot, 
the left leg relaxed, the left heel raised, and the 
left knee almost touching the ski, both knees 
pressed a little inwards, the bend of the left 
ski level with the ankle of the right foot, and 
close against it. 

Turn. — Turn right knee and foot inwards a 
little, placing front ski at slight angle with the 
other. As you do so (not later) lift outer edge of 
right ski and put the whole weight on right heel. 

As turn begins face towards point of front ski. 



174 ^HOW TO SKI 

Lean more and more forwards throughout turn 
and edge front ski harder. 

At finish weight toe of front foot and press 
back knee inwards, bringing skis parallel. 

Fix your eyes on the front of the right ski, and 
try to lean in that direction only, not inwards. 

N.B. — A downhill turn is made in the same 
way, except that, to start the swing, the toe of 
the right foot must be weighted for a moment. 



CHEISTIANIA SWING 175 



THE CHEISTIANIA SWING 

A Christiania is any turn in which the outer 
ski does not lead, and the skis are not held con- 
ver gently, i.e. the skis may be either parallel or 
c^^vergent, and either held level or with the inner 
leading. 

This swing is, according to the purpose for 
which it is used, and the state of the snow, 
either an extremely difficult or the very easiest 
way of turning or stopping. 

It is easiest on a hard icy crust (not a 
breakable one) either with or without a shallow 
covering of loose snow, and therefore for learn- 
ing it one should find snow of this sort. Most 
practice-grounds, trodden hard by ski-tracks, 
are just the thing. The gradient is not so im- 
portant, for it is quite as easy to learn this 
swing on a steepish slope as on a moderate one. 
I have already shown (p. 138) how an uphill 
Christiania may be started from a traverse by 
side-slipping, and also how a stemming turn 
may be finished as a Christiania (p. 143). The 
following method is more generally useful, and a 
steadier way of making the swing at a high speed. 



176 



HOW TO SKI 



U'pliill Turn to the Right. — In the normal 
position, run across the slope at a gentle 
gradient with the hill on your right, your 
weight on the left ski, the right ski about a 
foot in advance. 

When fairly under weigh lean well forwards, 




Fig. 38. — Uphill Christiania swing to rightj(A from a traverse, 
B from a direct descent.) ^ 

bend the front knee, shift most of the weight 
from the left foot to the right heel, and slide the 
left ski about six inches farther to the rear, 
turning its point slightly outwards, i.e, down- 
hill, so that it takes the position shown in 
Fig. 38, A, i, and at the same time jlattening 

^ The blackened parts are those which should be weighted. 



I 



Track of downhill Christiania swings. — (XLll.) 




' ■* -i^ : ' !"] 



^•J 



Photo hy 



L. Bnttner. 



Downhill Christiania swing to right : halfway 
round. — (xLiii.) 



Jerked" Christiania swing to right (note 
position o'f arms and shoulders. — (XLiv.) 




Downhill 'lelemark swing to left (seen from above).— (XLV.) 




Uphill Telemark swing to right. — (XLVI.) 



CHEISTIANIA SWING 177 

it by bending the left knee and ankle well 
outwards (Plate XXXIV. )• 

Owing partly to the steering effect produced 
by the relative position of the two skis and partly 
to the pressure on the heel of the right ski (a 
very slight momentary flattening of which will 
help the turn to start if it hangs fire at 
all), you will instantly begin to turn uphill. 
Immediately after beginning to turn press the 
left ski quickly inwards and forwards again 
to the normal position. As it again comes 
parallel to the other it may be edged and its 
left heel receive half the weight ; until then it 
must he hept flat. 

If you do all this correctly you should come 
to a standstill with the skis pointing more or 
less uphill, in the normal position, right ski 
leading (Fig. 38, A, 5). 

The difficulty in this, as in all the turns, is, at 
the start, to keep most of the weight on one ski 
only. When, at the beginning of the swing, the 
weight has once been shifted on to the right ski, 
it must be kept there until the skis are brought 
parallel again. It is in order to ensure doing this 
that it is necessary to lean forwards, and keep the 
right knee well over the foot. This may appear 
likely to throw the weight on the toes, but the 

M 



178 HOW TO SKI 

tendency for that to happen is really less when 
the leg is in this position than when it is 
straighter. A slight lifting of the left heel 
will lessen the tendency to throw weight on 
that foot. 

If much weight is put on the left foot it will 
be difficult to hold the skis at the narrow angle 
shown in the diagram, especially if the left ski 
has not been flattened, but is still on its inside 
edge. The skis, then, instead of turning to- 
gether, will probably run apart in the directions 
in which they are pointing (Plate XXXVII.). 

In this swing, as in the Telemark, the tendency 
of the beginner is to lean too much inwards, 
towards the hill. What I said in this connection 
when describing the Telemark swing is equally 
applicable here, and to save you from referring 
back I will repeat it. 

As explained on page 82, a ski can never cut 
round like a skate, but slips sideways, in turning, 
as well as forwards ; and the shallower the snow, 
the steeper the hill, and the higher the speed, 
the greater is this side-slip. In making this 
turn to the right, therefore, your right foot, 
instead of moving at once to the right of the 
line of your previous course, will at first move 
to the left of, and below it ; and, if the hill is 



CHEISTIANIA SWING 179 

steep or the snow shallow, may still be on its 
left even at the end of the swing, though the 
fact that the points of the skis remain on the 
other side of the line prevents this from being 
apparent at first (Fig. 38). 

It is obvious, then, that if you are to remain 
properly balanced on your right ski, very little 
inward lean is necessary, and the usual directions 
as to leaning the body inwards while making the 
swing are most misleading. 

In fact, although one really has to lean inwards 
when the turn has begun, the instinct to avoid 
an outward fall makes one overdo it to such an 
extent that at first it is better to try to throw 
the weight rather to the left and downhill — but 
forivards, not backwards, on to the left ski — in 
order to get the proper balance. 

One must try to encourage the side-slip, not 
to check it; and the only way to do this is to 
try to throw the weight slightly outwards, or, 
at any rate, to guard against the least tendency 
to lean in, as one instinctively is inclined to do 
when the side-slip begins. 

At the end of the swing the edging of the 
skis stops the side-slip, rather suddenly if one 
makes a sharp turn in soft snow, and it is 
only then that any conscious efibrt should be 



i8o HOW TO SKI 

made to lean inwards, never at the beginning of 
the swing. 

It is useless to try to hasten the swing by 
turning, leaning, or swinging the body ; in fact, 
as I have said before, if you try to turn at all 
you are almost certain to fall. If, however, you 
try to go straight on^ simply holding the skis, 
and distributing the weight as I have directed, 
you will probably turn without difficulty. 

When you can make the swing to the right, 
learn to make it to the left in the same way, of 
course substituting left for right, and right for 
left in the directions. When you can do this, 
practise it to the right again, this time running 
more steeply downhill than at first, and then in 
the same way to the left, until you can at last 
turn to right or left when running straight 
downhill (Fig, 38, b). But do not, at any stage, 
run far before beginning to swing ; get fairly 
under weigh and make the swing, then run on 
and do it again, and repeat this until you get to 
the bottom of your practice slope. To run far 
between each swing only gives you more climbing 
in proportion to the amount of practice. 

There is one thing to be noticed about making 
the swing when running straight downhill. When 
running across the hill the skis are edged in the 



' CHRISTIANIA SWING i8i 

normal position, and the inner ski, which has to 
be slightly edged at the start of the swing, is 
therefore already about right. In running straight 
downhill both skis are flat in the normal position j 
it is therefore necessary, when turning to the 
right, to edge the right ski a trifle in order to 
begin the swing (Plate XXXV.). 

The left ski is already flat ; but to make sure 
that it keeps so as the turn begins, slightly bow 
the legs, turning both knees — especially the left 
— rather outwards. 

When running straight downhill preparatory 
to swinging, always lead with the ski of the 
side to which you mean to turn. 

Downhill Turn to the Right, — So far you have 
used the swing to make an uphill turn, in order 
to bring yourself to a standstill. 

When using the swing in order to make a 
downhill turn, the skis are held in exactly the 
same relative positions as before, and weighted 
in much the same way, but it is necessary to 
notice carefully one or two details. 

Suppose you are running across the slope with 
the hill on your left and wish to turn downwards 
to the right and make a fresh tack. Your weight 
in the normal running position is then on the 
right ski, and the left ski is advanced. 



l82 



HOW TO SKI 



In order to start the turn it is not necessary 
to shift the weight, which is already on the right 
ski ; you have merely to turn the right knee 
and ankle slightly outwards as before, and to 
put the weight on the toe of the right foot, at 




Fig. 39. — Downhill Ohristiania swing to the right at various stages.^ 



the same time sliding the left ski to the rear. 
The right ski will now begin to point away from 
the other and turn downhill (Fig. 39, A, 1, 1), 
Take care to bend the right ankle only slightly 
outwards, so that the ski is not actually edged 
outwards, but only partially or completely flat- 

1 The blackened parts are those which should be weighted. 



CHEISTIANIA SWING 183 

tened, according as the slope is steep or gentle ; 
if there is any outward edging — or if the weight 
is on the heel — you will fail to start the turn. 

As the right ski begins to turn downwards, 
take care that the angle between it and the 
other one does not become too wide, but that 
the left ski also begins to turn downhill (pressing 
on it with the toes and partially flattening it by 
bending the ankle inwards will enable it to do 
so) before the right has assumed the position of 
2 in the diagram. If you put much weight on 
the left ski it will refuse to follow the other one 
round, and will either get across the heel of it, 
or run away from it and upset you. 

The right knee and ankle are held in the same 
position throughout the swing, and this will bring 
the right ski on to its outside edge as soon as 
it is pointing directly downhill (in a sense, indeed, 
the right ski may be said to be " edged " through- 
out the swing if that expression is merely used 
to signify the depression of its outer edge and not 
its relation to the surface of the snow). 

The left ankle, however, after being bent a 
trifle inwards, to start the swing, must, with the 
knee, be bent more and more outwards as the 
swing proceeds, in order to keep the left ski 
perfectly flat until it can be brought back to 



1 84 HOW TO SKI 

the side of the other one and edged inwards as 
the swing ends. 

As soon as you have turned so far that you 
are facing straight downhill, shift the weight 
from the toe of the right foot to the heel and 
finish the swing as before. If you make a 
downhill turn very sharply while running fast 
you can shift the weight from toe to heel before 
you are facing downhill — in fact almost immedi- 
ately after the turn has begun. In trying to 
put the weight on the toe at the beginning of 
the swing, take great care not to poke the foot 
forward, but to keep the knee well over it, other- 
wise you are sure to put some weight back on 
the left foot. 

Be on your guard also against trying to start 
the swing by leaning to the right, for, if you 
do this, you will either fall downhill, or will 
find that the right ski refuses to turn down- 
wards. Simply lean, as before, towards the tip 
of the right ski, look in that direction only, 
and don't think of trying to turn, but rather 
try to go on across the slope. 

As you turn downwards, of course, the pace 
increases, and you must therefore lean more 
forwards; the great thing is to keep the right 
knee well forward over the foot, to try to lean 



CHEISTIANIA SWING 185 

over the front of the ski, and to keep your eyes 
on the ground at your feet, endeavouring to 
imagine it flat, as I advised in the case of the 
Telemark and stemming turns. 

You will find this downhill turn of very little 
practical use on a steep slope until you can make 
it quite shortly and sharply, for, if you make 
a long curve, the pace increases so much in the 
middle of it that you are almost sure to lose 
control and fail to finish the swing, even if you 
do not fall down. 

When performed in this way the Christiania 
swing can be used for making either up or 
downhill turns on practically any slope and in 
any kind of snow except breakable crust. The 
deeper, however, the skis sink into the snow, the 
greater is the difficulty, not only because they 
skid round less readily, but because it then needs 
more force to hold the outer, back ski at a 
narrow angle with the other owing to the 
increased outward pressure of the snow. Unless 
this ski is then held perfectly fiat it will 
instantly run apart from the other. 

In the method just described the turn is 
started by sliding hack the ski which is to 
be the outer one and pointing it away from 
the side to which one is about to turn. Another 



i86 HOW TO SKI 

way of starting the turn is to slide forward 
the ski which is to be the inner one and point 
it towards the side one means to turn to. This 
practically amounts to the same thing looked 
at from another view ; the relative position 
of the skis is exactly the same, and there is 
very little practical difference in the making 
of the turn. 

As I find that beginners learn the swing 
more easily if told to do it in the first way, 
I have given these directions first, but I should 
have thought myself that the swing was easier 
to understand, and therefore to perform, when 
considered from this second point of view. 

Before going any further let me warn the 
reader, if he is a beginner, that the next three 
pages or so are not strictly practical, but are 
rather meant to elucidate the theory of the 
swing. If after glancing at them the reader 
does not feel very hopeful of enlightenment, he 
may safely skip them. 

I have so far talked about steering action 
starting the turn. When the swing is looked 
at from this second standpoint, one can say 
that stemming action staftB^ it — or rather 
prepares for it. 

Suppose, for instance, you are traversing to 



CHEISTIANIA SWING 187 

the right at a gentle gradient, and wish to 
turn uphill in this way. You are in the normal 
position, left foot weighted, and right foot lead- 
ing ; in order to prepare for the turn keep the left 
ski edged normally and weighted, slide the right 
a little farther forward, turn it rather away 
from the other, i,e, point it about horizontally 
across the slope (the gradient of your course 
being very slight), and nearly flatten it by 
keeping the right knee and ankle a little 
inwards. What you are now doing is actually 
stemming — c?ivergent stemming, not coT^vergent 
like ordinary or Telemark stemming, but still 
stemming; Christiania stemming if you like to 
call it so. As long as you hold this position 
with the left ski edged and weighted and the 
body facing towards its point you will go 
straight ahead at a reduced pace. You can 
now stop either by stemming alone or by 
stemming and turning. 

(1) Keep the left (running) ski normally edged, 
and gradually edge and weight the right stem- 
ming ski more and more until you come to a 
standstill without a change of front — a true 
stemming stop, but awkward, because the skis 
tend to run apart as the upper ski receives 
the weight. 



i88 HOW TO SKI 

(2) You can stop more neatly by shifting the 
weight all at once to the stemming ski, facing 
towards its point as you do so and instantly 
bringing round the lower ski — lifting it if you 
like, or at any rate flattening it — to the side 
of the upper. This is something between stop- 
ping by stemming and stopping by a step 
round. There is no swing about either process, 
and although the last may be called a turn 
because there is a change of front, it cannot 
be more than a slight one, because one cannot 
safely point away the upper ski at more than 
a slight angle. 

Apart from the question of speed, with the 
increase of which the insecurity of any sort of 
stemming always increases, you cannot, of course, 
stop in either of these ways if traversing steeply 
enough for the divergent upper ski to be no 
longer pointing quite horizontally. You must 
then do so either (3) by fiattening the lower 
ski, putting half the weight on the upper^, hold- 
ing the divergent position until the consequent 
steering action brings the upper ski horizontal 
again, and only then putting the whole weight 
on it and bringing the other parallel to it — a 
pure "steered" turn, with the inevitable accom- 
panying drawback of the tendency of the skis 



CHRISTIANIA SWING 189 

to run apart ; or (4) by shifting the weight 
all at once to the stemming ski— facing towards 
its point as you do so, bringing the other 
(flattened) quickly parallel to it, and instantly 
weighting the heels of both (see p. 131), when 
they will turn upwards in side-slipping and 
come to a standstill. If before you make the 
turn you only point the stemming ski at a 
very slight angle away from the other, and 
if you throw your weight on it and face towards 
its point as, and not after, you point it out- 
wards, you will, by the method just described, 
make what, for the sake of distinction, may 
be called the " steered " Christiania in the best 
way that it is possible to make it. 

In coming to a standstill on a gentle slope 
from a slow traverse by any of the methods 
just described, you will find that the practical 
differences between them are very small indeed ; 
but if running very fast you would find that 
the first two were impossible, and the third 
awkward and unsafe, but that by the last 
(which, as I have said, is practically the same 
as the method described at the beginning of 
the chapter) you could, if your balance were 
good, turn and stop with perfect ease and 
steadiness. What I have called Christiania 



I90 HOW TO SKI 

stemming, though possible, is of so little prac- 
tical use that, in that respect, it is hardly 
worth considering ; but to understand how it 
may be done, and its exact relation to steering, 
side-slipping, &c., makes it so much easier to 
master the difficulties of the swing, that I have 
risked exasperating the reader by describing it 
at length. 

The upshot of all this is that when the 
Christiania is made in either of the ways so 
far described in this chapter, whatever steering 
or divergent stemming there is in it should 
be reduced to a minimum. 

In this turn, by whatever method it is made, 
the main difficulty — apart from the question of 
balance — is in getting the turn started. If 
once the heel of the leading ski can be got 
fairly outside the track of its point, it is easy 
enough to keep the turn going. It is the 
starting of the turn that is the main object 
of the divergent position of the skis ; in fact, 
although this position produces some steering 
effect as long as there is any forward motion 
at all, it produces less and less as the skis 
move more and more broadside on, and is 
only really efficient as the turn begins. This 
divergent position, indeed, although on the 



CHRISTIAN! A SWING 191 

whole, I think, the best possible way of starting 
the swing, becomes more hindrance than help 
as the turn proceeds, owing to the accompanying 
tendency, if most of the weight is on the inner 
ski, for the outer one to run away from it ; or, 
if the outer ski is most weighted, for the inner 
one to whip round at right angles and cross 
the others heel (Plate XXXIX.). You should 
be careful, therefore, not to let the skis point 
much apart, and not to let them do so at all 
for a moment longer than you can help, but 
as soon as you are sure the steering has done 
its work thoroughly, and the heel of the front 
ski has fairly begun to side-slip, should quickly 
bring the skis parallel, and carry through 
the rest of the turn simply by weighting 
both heels. 

In the case of an uphill turn made while 
running fast, you will generally find that the 
skis can be brought together again almost 
instantly. The separation of the skis is then 
almost imperceptible, and no doubt many runners 
do it quite unconsciously. The skis merely make, 
as it were, a quick snip, like a pair of scissors. 

In order to get the skis parallel, some people 
find it easier, instead of keeping the outer ski 
unweighted and pressing its point imvards 



192 HOW TO SKI 

again, to shift most of the weight back and 
out on to it, and so thrust its heel outwards. 
The latter method puts the skis parallel a little 
more quickly than the former, but is apt to get 
them rather wide apart in doing so. 

The two methods just described are, as I have 
said, identical in principle ; the divergent posi- 
tion of the skis, with its accompanying steering 
effect, being the main characteristic of each. 
In each method, moreover — apart from the 
question of balance — the only muscular effort 
necessary (which should be very slight) is that 
of checking and reducing the divergence of the 
skis ; the runner, as soon as the skis are parallel, 
being carried round without any effort whatever. 

A third method — the one usually taught — 
is quite different in principle, being precisely 
similar to a skating turn; that is to say, the 
runner uses the inertia, or rather momentum, 
of his upper body as a purchase from which, 
by a muscular effort — though not necessarily 
a great one — he throws both skis simultane- 
ously more or less athwart the line of his course ; 
the skis remaining parallel throughout and 
acting practically as one. I said a muscular 
effort — I ought rather to have said " two muscular 
efforts," for the movement which causes the skis 



CHEISTIANIA SWING 193 

to turn, though it may be very slight, and may 
then appear to the onlooker — and even feel to the 
expert performer — quite simple, is really a com- 
pound one that consists of two distinct parts, 
and should be learnt as such. 

Supposing you are running straight down- 
hill and want to make a turn to the right in 
this way, the preparation is as follows : either 
slightly advance the right ski, or hold both 
skis level, place the weight equally on both, 
edging them very slightly to the right, bending 
the knees a little, keeping both them and the 
skis in close contact, and leaning well forwards. 
These relative positions of the skis and legs 
are, if possible, held unaltered throughout the 
swing. 

You can now make the double movement that 
produces the turn. 

(1) Without letting your head turn or 
straightening yourself up, siving the arms, 
shoulders, and upper body ivell round to the 
right. This swinging movement should be easy 
yet decided, starting gently and increasing in 
force as it proceeds — in fact, as Mr. Richardson 
says, it should be made *' crescendo," not " sfor- 
zando." It should bring you to the position of 
Fig. 40, A, right arm well back and left well 

N 



194 



HOW TO SKI 



across the front of the body, which should be 
leaning more to its right than in the drawing, 
with the hips, therefore (to keep the centre of 
gravity exactly over the skis), projecting more 




Fig. 40. — "Jerked" Christiania swing, 
A before, B after turn. 



Fig. 41. 



to their left. At the instant that the swinging 
movement of the arms and shoulders brings you 
into the above position — i.e. just before the 
movement reaches its extreme limit and while 



CHEISTIANIA SWING 195 

its force is still increasing — make a sudden effort 
to reverse it — that is, simultaneously make a 
vigorous stroke to the left with the arms, and 
jerk the hips and knees round to the right by 
suddenly twisting the body at the waist. 

This reverse twist of the body has practically 
no effect upon the shoulders — being there 
neutralised (though this may not be obvious 
at first sight) by the back-stroke of the arms 
— but acts almost entirely on the hips, turning 
them until they face even farther to the right 
than did the shoulders at the end of their 
previous swing. The result, therefore, of the 
whole double movement, if made with force 
and precision, should be that you find yourself 
in the position of Fig. 40, b, or Plate XLIV. 
— the skis having whipped round to right angles, 
or thereabouts, with their original direction — 
and that, after more or less side-slip, according 
to your speed and the quality of the snow, you 
come to a standstill. 

In saying that this double movement should 
be made with force, I do not mean that it should 
be made violently. If the turn is to be made 
very suddenly, so that the skis whip round 
instantly to right angles, some force is certainly 
necessary, for then the whole of the turning 



196 HOW TO SKI 

movement of the skis is carried out by the 
double muscular effort of the body and arms. 
But this double effort — the swing of the shoulders 
and the immediately following jerk of the hips — 
may be, and indeed usually is, used merely to 
start the turn by getting the heels of the skis 
outside the track of their points ; the rest of the 
turn being carried through by the weighting 
of the heels, in the same way that, as I have 
already explained, the greater part of a steered 
Christiania can so be carried through. In this 
case the " swing-and-jerk," which takes the 
place of the " snip " of the skis in the other 
method, may be an almost imperceptible effort, 
the most obvious part of which is a slight twist- 
ing of the hips. As absence of effort is of the 
greatest importance in ski-ing, one may perhaps 
say that in a sense this is the best way of 
making the turn. But even though you may 
seldom want to make the turn fully and in- 
stantaneously it is extremely useful to be able 
to do so in case of need, and if you have learnt 
to complete a turn forcibly you will find it all 
the easier to start one gently. If, however, you 
never try to do more than start the turn with 
a gentle swing-and-jerk, it is quite likely that 
you will never do even that with real certainty 



CHRISTIANIA SWING 197 

— the subtlety of a gentle movement making 
it more difficult to learn correctly than a forcible 
one. You are still more likely to be unsuccessful 
if you leave out half the movement, as is some- 
times directed, and only try to swing the 
shoulders, or to twist the hips, or if you try 
to move both round simultaneously, or if, as 
I myself used wrongly to direct, you treat the 
double movement as two quite separate ones — 
a merely preparatory turn of the shoulders with 
a pause between it and the hip-jerk. Not that 
the turn cannot be made in either of these ways ; 
it can in all, but only awkwardly with the help 
of a good deal more force than would otherwise 
be necessary. An expert making a ''jerked" 
Christiania — as this sort may perhaps be called, 
since the jerk round of the hips and consequent 
thrusting forward of the ski-heels is the crucial 
part of it — whether he makes it powerfully or 
gently, will do so with just the force needed and 
no more ; in other words, he will do it gracefully. 
The essential points of the movement so made are — 
(1) that it is a double one, (2) that the second 
part of the movement follows the first without 
the least pause, (3) that the force used, however 
small, is gradually increasing in the first part, 
sudden in the second, (4) that each part of the 



198 HOW TO SKI 

movement is made with about the same strength ; 
for feebleness in the one part has to be com- 
pensated for by undue violence in the other. 
If these four conditions are complied with the 
movement will usually need very little force. 

You had better try this swing-and-jerk move- 
ment, first without skis, on a smooth floor, then 
with skis, but at a standstill, on the slipperiest 
bit of hard snow you can find — slightly convex, 
for choice, so that only the middles of the skis 
rest on it — before trying it while actually 
running. The first time you try it you will 
probably find that, in spite of the many words 
I have managed to use on it, it is just what 
you would do by the light of nature if asked, 
without letting your face turn, to hold your feet 
together and make them turn suddenly as far 
round to the right as possible. You will also 
find that in order to do it quickly you will 
be inclined to make the movement with a bit 
of a jump, and this, in fact, is the best way 
to do it when on skis. There should always be 
some dipping of the knees with the swing and 
the least suspicion of a spring with the jerk, just 
sufficient to take most of the weight off the 
skis for a moment and enable them to come 
round with less effort from the body. This 



CHRISTIANIA SWING 199 

spring may, if the snow makes it difficult to 
start the turn, be made strongly enough to 
lift the skis clear of it. 

This is the only turn on skis in which the 
arms are used as an aid to turning. In the 
stemming turn, the Telemark, and the other 
variety of the Christiania, the arms will very 
likely wave about involuntarily to help the 
balance, but as far as possible they should hang 
quietly by the sides, a moderately expert run- 
ner being able to make either of these turns 
with his hands in his pockets or clasped behind 
his back. 

In this form of the Christiania, however, the 
double swing of the arms — especially their 
back-stroke — is the greatest help, for it practi- 
cally holds the shoulders at the end of their 
swing, and enables the body muscles to use 
them as a purchase from which to pull the 
hips round. You can easily convince yourself 
of the value of free and correct arm-action in 
this turn if, after making it as I have directed, 
you try to turn either with your arms tightly 
folded, or clasped behind your back, or by 
swinging them to the right only and then 
holding them in the position of Fig. 40, A, 
instead of bringing them back again. 



200 HOW TO SKI 

It is naturally far easiest to make a turn in 
this way on a hard smooth surface which allows 
the skis to skid round freely. It is only on this 
sort of snow, in fact, that the whole turn can be 
jerked; in deep soft snow it is hardly possible 
to do more than just start the turn by swing- 
and-jerking ; the heel-weighting must then do 
nearly all of it. If this heel-weighting is not 
timed and adjusted quite nicely, or if the skis 
are edged at all hard before they have made 
a considerable change of direction, the turn is 
apt to miss fire altogether ; it is therefore, I 
think, a far less useful one to the average 
performer than the "steered" variety, which 
will almost always get him round somehow, even 
if clumsily. 

For anyone who can make both kinds perfectly, 
the *' steered" turn involves just as little eflbrt 
as the "jerked," and I certainly advise the 
beginner to get thoroughly accustomed to start- 
ing his turns by "steering" before he learns to 
"jerk" them. 

I have only given directions for making the 
"jerked" turn from a direct descent; "jerked" 
turns, either uphill or downhill, can of course 
be made from a traverse in just the same way. 
Downhill turns are always rather more difficult 



CHEISTIANIA SWING 201 

than uphill turns, whatever be the method of 
turning; downhill ''jerked" turns have the 
added difficulty that if, as is generally the 
case, the angle between the two tacks is a 
small one, the skis have to be jerked round 
farther than would usually be necessary in an 
uphill turn, and the jerk therefore takes more 
effort. 

In snow which allows you to make a complete 
jerked turn you can, if not running very fast, 
practically stop dead, or change your course 
instantaneously, by making the Christiania in 
this way, for the edging of the skis, after the 
turn has been made, stops the side-slip almost 
before it has had time to begin. 

If, on hard snow, you make a Christiania 
(of any kind) sharply while travelling at a high 
speed, you will often find that, after you have 
come round, the side-slip, which will then be 
very great, will be too irregular to allow you to 
keep your balance without holding the skis 
at some distance apart. Even a good runner 
is sometimes compelled to separate his skis in 
this way, but you should not do it if you can 
possibly help it, and if compelled to, should 
always bring the skis together as the side-slip 
grows less, not for the look of the thing, but 



202 HOW TO SKI 

because, though possible, it is difficult, if the skis 
are apart, to start a swing instantly in the 
other direction, as you may often wish to do. 

The Christiania can also be started, as 
Bilgeri and his school advise, and as I have 
practically said already, from a very undeveloped 
ordinary stemming turn. In order, for in- 
stance, to make a swing to the left, one can 
advance the right ski, push out its heel a 
little, throw the weight on it, and face towards 
its point, and can then, by instantly bringing 
the left ski parallel and to the front and 
weighting its heel as well as the other's, finish 
the turn as a Christiania. This is very easy 
to learn, and, if the preliminary stem is reduced 
to a minimum, is quite effective ; but it is a 
much less steady way of turning at a very 
high speed than a Christiania started with the 
inside ski leading, and high speed is the real 
test. 

Having said that a *' jerked" Christiania is 
like a skating turn, I think I had better insert 
the following quotation from Mr. Richardson's 
" Shilling Ski-runner," with the sentiment of 
which I heartily agree. '* The beginner should 
remember that turns are only a means to an 
end, and not, as in figure skating, an end in 



CHEISTIANIA SWING 203 

themselves. The real object of all ski-ing 
technique is to enable the runner to cross the 
snow as fast as possible, with as little effort 
as possible, and as safely as possible." 

Any beginner who has followed me through 
this chapter on the Christiania swing will prob- 
ably think that a manoeuvre which takes so 
much description must be appallingly difficult. 
I can assure him that it is nothing of the 
sort. Indeed the expert, who does it instinc- 
tively, will no doubt wonder why on earth I 
have made such a fuss about it. I do not 
think, however, that I could have said much 
less and yet have given a really complete 
explanation of how it may be done. 

The only authorities, as far as I know, who 
have said that there is more than one way of 
making the swing, are Richardson and Hoek in 
Der Skilauf ; they do not explain the differ- 
ence in the making of it, but only in its 
results, giving a diagram of the tracks of two 
swings, one " gerissen," and the other " gezo- 
gen," t.e. " torn" and " drawn," which, I suppose, 
are equivalent to ''jerked" and "swung." 

Some writers having given directions for one 
variety of the swing and some for the other; 
their instructions at first sight appear so extra- 



204 HOW TO SKI 

ordinarily contradictory that I am almost afraid 
of confessing that I agree with them all, lest 
the reader who knows something about ski-ing 
should set me down as an amiable idiot. As 
soon, however, as one understands the cause of 
it, this contradictoriness is seen to be more 
apparent than actual. The difficulty in realising 
the existence of these variations of the swing is, 
no doubt, due to the fact that between the pure 
"jerked " Christiania at one end of the scale, 
and the pure "swung," "steered, "drawn," or 
whatever one likes to call it, Christiania at the 
other, there are an infinite number of gradations, 
one of them being a form of the swing that is 
often seen, in which the turn is started by a 
slight jerk and a slight separation of the ski- 
points, and is carried through by the weighting 
of the heels. 

When one is running across the hill an uphill 
Christiania of any kind can be made with per- 
fect ease on any sort of snow short of breakable 
crust ; when one is running straight downhill it 
is less easy, if the snow is very loose and deep ; 
while to make a downhill turn in deep loose 
snow by means of a Christiania is decidedly 
difficult, especially if the slope is steep, though 
on hard snow and a moderate slope this downhill 



CHEISTIANIA SWING 205 

turn is easy enough and safer than a stemming 
turn, if the speed is at all high. 

But although at first, when out on a run, you 
will be wise if you only use the Christiania for 
making uphill turns, and that on snow which 
is easy for it, you should when practising keep 
on trying it in deeper and deeper loose snow, 
and should turn downhill as well as uphill, not 
being satisfied until you can make fairly short 
downhill turns in deep loose snow on a really 
steep slope, as it is perfectly possible to do. 

As in the case of the Telemark, the beginner 
can of course learn to make an uphill ''steered" 
Christiania from a standstill by holding himself 
back with his sticks while he places the skis in 
the divergent position, and then letting himself 
go and swinging round immediately. This is in 
fact a very good way for him to begin to learn 
it, for he can thus find out in a very short time 
exactly how to hold his skis and distribute his 
weight ; nor need he be afiraid of contracting any 
bad habit by learning the swing in this way, for 
though he may find it rather easier to learn the 
Telemark by making it clumsily at first, he will 
find nothing of the sort in the case of the 
Christiania. 

Before leaving the subject of the swings, let me 



2o6 HOW TO SKI 

impress upon the reader that in every swing or 
turn the runner at first starts the side-sUp by 
stemming or steering with one ski held at an 
angle with the other or by moving both with 
a jerk — in short, by a muscular effort, however 
slight a one — and that having started the side- 
slip he lets his weight do the rest, and is carried 
round without any effort at all. It is the effort- 
less side-slipping that gives a well-made swing 
its characteristic feeling and appearance. 

The whole difference between a novice's turn and 
an expert's is that in the former's the preparatory 
stemming or steering preponderates, in the latter's 
the finishing side-slip ; and that, moreover, in the 
novice's swing the initial and final movements are 
seen (and felt) to be distinct and separate, while 
in the expert's swing the preparatory movement 
merges imperceptibly into the final side-slip. 
The more the preparatory steering, stemming, or 
jerking is eliminated, the more comfortable — I 
will not say the easier — is the swing, and the 
steadier the balance if the swing is made at high 
speed. 

In the preparatory stemming or steering the 
weight is for a moment more equally distributed 
on both skis than I have intended the beginner 
to suspect from the previous directions. Even in 



CHEISTIANIA SWING 207 

the Telemark, in which the weight is apparently 
entirely on the leading ski both before and 
throughout the swing, it is actually, at the 
moment the front ski is turned inwards, half 
supported by the back one. The same thing 
happens at the moment the skis are made to 
diverge in starting a *' steered " Christiania. But 
if the beginner makes any conscious effort to put 
the weight back — unless, indeed, he tries to keep 
it well forward — he will almost inevitably put it 
entirely on the back ski, and in moving it on to 
the leading ski as the swing proceeds will find 
that his balance is liable to be disturbed. The 
fact that the weight is always farther back than 
he imagines is one which the beginner must 
continually remind himself. In every uphill turn 
the weight, which is at first, as I have just said, 
about equally on both skis, is almost immediately 
moved to the heel of the front foot — that is, it is 
thrown forward^ and as the swing finishes it is 
thrown still more forward to prevent the ski from 
turning too far uphill. In the directions for the 
swings, therefore, the beginner should remember 
that to weight first the heel and then the toe 
does noty as a rule, mean to throw the weight first 
backwards and then forwards, but to throw it 
&o^i forivards and then still more forwards. 



2o8 HOW TO SKI 

Short Directions for an Uphill Christiania 
Swing to the Right. — 1. (''Steered") for any 
kind of snow except breakable crust. 

Lean forwards and put all the weight on heel 
of right foot, right knee rather bent and well 
forward over foot, right ankle bent slightly 
outwards, so as to lift the inner edge of right 
ski ; left ski about 1 8 inches to the rear, pointed 
slightly away from the other, and^a^. 

This position starts the swing; as it proceeds 
press the left ski smartly inwards and forwards, 
so that it returns as soon as possible to the 
normal position again, parallel to and touching 
the right ski. As it does so, hut not before, it 
may be edged and receive half the weight ; 
unless parallel with the other, it must be 
absolutely fiat and almost unweighted. 

Fix your eyes on the point of the right ski and 
try to lean in that direction only, not inwards. 

N.B. — A downhill turn is made in the same 
way, except that to start the swing the toes of 
both feet must be weighted for a moment. 

2. ("Jerked") for hard snow, or shallow 
loose snow. 

Preparation, — Press both knees and skis 
together and (except before a downhill turn) 
edge the latter slightly to the right; weight 




Jumping round to the left : bad position of 
skis.— (XLVii.) 



Jumping round to the right. 

— (XLVIII.) 




L. na/fiicr. 



Jumping.— (XLix.) 







A 



L. Buttmr. 



Jumping.— {L.) 




Jvimping.— ^Li.) 



CHRISTIANIA SWING 209 

on both and well forwards ; knees rather bent, 
feet level, or the right a little ahead. 

Turn. — (1) Still stooping slightly, move arms, 
shoulders, and upper body — not the head — well 
round to the right with an easy but decided 
swing. (2) Without the least pause simultane- 
ously reverse the twist of the body, make a 
vigorous stroke to the left with the arms, and 
jerk hips and knees round to the right. The 
movement of (1) should be gradual, of (2) sudden, 
but the force about the same in each. The skis 
should whip round to right angles, or nearly so, 
with their previous course. 



2IO HOW TO SKI 



JUMPING ROUND 

If you can make the stemming turn and the 
Telemark and Christlania swings, you will, under 
most ordinary conditions of snow, be able to turn 
or stop with ease under any circumstances. 
Sometimes, however, you will encounter snow, 
the surface of which is covered by a crust, not 
thick enough to bear the runner's weight without 
breaking, but sufficiently so to make it impos- 
sible for him to shear round through it even 
with a Telemark swing (for when the skis cut 
into a thick crust they will only run in a 
straight line). 

Under these circumstances the only neat and 
quick way of turning or stopping is to do so by 
means of a jump which places the skis more or 
less broadside on to their original course, and this 
is not such a difficult matter as perhaps it sounds. 

This jump is made with the feet level, and the 
skis close together and parallel, in just the same 
way as a jump used for starting on the side of a 
hill or as a substitute for the kick- turn. Pay 
the same attention to the points of getting the 
weight well on the toes before making the spring, 



JUMPING ROUND 



211 



and of then crouching low and jumping with 
a free, swinging action, not a timid, jerky one, 
and he sure to press the knees together. 

The skis should remain about parallel with the 
surface of the snow throughout the jump ; if the 





Fig. 42. 

jump is used for making an uphill turn, the points 
of the skis must be well lifted, if for a downhill 
one, their heels. 

You will find it far easier to keep your balance 
on landing, if you remember not to jump to one 
side of your course (Fig. 42, a), but to come to the 
ground with your feet as nearly as possible 07i 



212 HOW TO SKI 

your original line of progress — though, of course, 
pointing across it, instead of along it, and, 
according to the speed at which you were 
running, more or less ahead of the place where 
you took off (Fig. 42, b). 

The secret of using the jump round success- 
fully lies, not in the actual making of the jump, 
but in knowing the safest and most effective way 
of applying it. 

Suppose, for instance, you are running either 
across a slope or straight down it, at a very 
moderate speed, and wish to stop, you can easily 
do so by means of a jump round towards the hill, 
which will bring you almost or quite at right 
angles to your original course (Plates XL VII. 
and XLVIII.). As you land you will naturally 
have to lean inwards to compensate for the out- 
ward throw. The amount of inward lean neces- 
sary varies with the speed at which you are running 
before the jump. When the speed is at all high 
the inclination at which you would be safe from 
an outward fall is so great that on landing after 
the jump, if you were to make one, the skis would 
almost certainly skid, and you would fall inwards ; 
while, if the skis did happen to hold, your legs 
would not have enough strength to withstand 
the shock, but would collapse under you. 




Preparing for the " Sats," — (lii.) 









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Making the " Sats."— (liii.) 




Hans Klopfensteiii jumping (winner of inter-Swiss Cham- 
pionship, 1910.— (liv.) 




Landing from a Jump.— (LV.) 



JUMPING ROUND 213 

When running at all fast, therefore, it is im- 
possible to stop with one jump. You must first 
jump a little way round, so that you face less 
directly downhill, and check your pace ; you can 
then jump again and stop yourself (Fig. 42, c). 

In the same way, if you wish to jump round 
instead of making a downhill turn, you must 
either make your tacks at a gradient which will 
keep down your speed suflficiently to allow you 
to make the complete turn in one jump, or you 
must check your pace before making the down- 
hill jump by turning slightly uphill with a 
preliminary jump. This is exactly equivalent to 
checking the pace by making a slight uphill 
swing before making a downhill one. 

The higher the speed, the slighter the change 
of direction that one can safely make in one jump, 
and at a very high speed it would, for this 
reason, be impossible to stop even in two jumps. 
There is nothing to prevent a runner from 
stopping or making a downhill turn at the 
highest possible speed by means of a series of 
jumps, but a turn so made covers so much ground 
that it is practically useless. This does not much 
matter, however, for the kind of snow which 
makes jumping round necessary is not such as to 
tempt one to run very fast. 



214 How TO SKI 



SKATING 

It is possible on a gentle slope, if the snow is 
shallow, to use the skis like skates, striking out 
with each alternately. 

This needs little explanation. You have merely, 
while running straight downhill, to lift one ski — 
say, the right — and put it down again pointing 
outwards from the other at a widish angle, their 
heels being close together. 

The moment the right ski touches the snow, 
give a vigorous push* backwards and to the left 
with the left ski, at the same time throwing the 
weight of the body well forwards and to the right 
over the right foot. While sliding on the right 
ski, bring the left forward and hold it close to 
the other, but clear of the snow. You are then 
ready to make a fresh stroke by putting down 
the left ski and pushing with the right. 

A series of such movements leaves a track 
as in Fig. 43, a. 

You will find it difficult at first to throw the 
weight sufficiently forward and outward at each 
stroke, especially if, instead of putting down the 
ski on which you are about to slide exactly 




SKATING 215 

level with the other, as you should do (Fig. 43, b), 
you put it farther forward (c). This difficulty 
will cause each stroke to become shorter and 
shorter until it is im- b a 

possible to continue the / / / 

movement. 

In practising, hold the 
ski which is off the snow 
parallel with and close to 
the other one until you 
are ready to make the ^J i 

next stroke, and slide on j'x 

each foot at least far \ 

enough to make sure that /\ 

your balance is perfectly j \ 

steady on it. 

It has already been ex- 
plained how, by striking 

out to one side only, one 

, -^ , Fig. 43. 

can change one's direction 

— for, of course, the action of stepping round is 
precisely the same as that of skating — and how 
one can in this way steer or stop oneself in 
breakable crust. 

Skating, moreover, is one of the best possible 
exercises for the balance, for it teaches one to 
run steadily on one foot without the support 



^ 



2i6 HOW TO SKI 

of the other, and on this account alone you 
should by no means omit to learn it. 

It is generally supposed that by skating down 
a gentle slope it is possible to increase the speed, 
but I think this is very doubtful. 

A skating track is a zigzag one, and is therefore 
not such a short way over a given distance as a 
direct slide. Then, again, although each stroke 
tends to increase the speed, it must be remembered 
that the whole weight of the runner rests on one 
ski, causing it to sink deeper and travel slower, 
and also that the skis are travelling slightly 
across the slope instead of straight down it, which 
reduces the speed still more. Besides this, the 
stroke itself is not directly in the line of motion, 
since it is impossible to place one ski at right 
angles with the other one. 

A better way of increasing the speed downhill 
is probably to lunge directly downhill with each 
foot alternately, keeping the skis close together — 
an exactly similar action to that of moving on 
level ground. Pushing with the sticks will, of 
course, make you go faster still. 



JUMPING 

Ski-jumping no doubt arose from the discovery 
that a shght inequahty of the surface would 
sometnnes cause a ski-runner moving fast down- 
hill to leave the ground involuntarily for a 
moment. Some abnormal person having liked 
the feeling and wanted more of it, it is easy 
to see how his endeavour to accentuate the 
inequality, and so lengthen the jump, would 
lead him to construct a horizontal platform 
projecting from the hillside. 

A competition jumping-hill at the present day 
is chosen, as to shape, and so arranged that the 
jumps may be as long as possible and the 
jumper may have a minimum of difficulty in 
keeping his feet on landing. 

Fig. 44 shows the usual form of the hill and 
position of the platform. (See Frontispiece.) 

The jumper starts at A and runs off the edge 
of the platform B into the air; landing on the 
slope below at c, he runs down it and out on the 
level, where he swings to a standstill at d. 



2t8 



HOW TO SKI 



The gradient of the hill above the platform is 
preferably not more than 20° or so, for the jumper 

must above all things 
be perfectly steady 
as he leaves the plat- 
form, and if the upper 
part of the hill is 
very steep the sudden 
change of gradient as 
he runs on to the 
platform is likely to 
upset his balance. 
The impetus can 
therefore be obtained 
more safely from a 
long run at a mode- 
rate gradient than 
from a short steep 
one. 

The steeper the 
slope below the plat- 

Fig. 44. Q . 

form, other things 
being equal, the longer obviously will the jump 
be, and also the less will be the shock to the 
jumper as he lands, on account of the narrower 
angle between the ground and his course through 
the air. For this reason a steep gradient below the 




JUMPING ^it> 

platform is an advantage, and on big jumping-hills 
the angle of this part of the slope is from 25° to 35^. 

The dotted line in the diagram shows how, if 
the platform were placed just at the point where 
the slope becomes steeper, the length of the 
jump would be greater than if, as is usually 
the case, the platform were built farther back ; 
at the same time, however, the shock to the 
jumper on landing would be increased also, for 
his course through the air the moment before 
alighting would then be more directly down- 
wards, and when in the air he would, at his 
highest point, be farther from the ground. 

This is one reason why the platform is usually 
placed farther back. There is sometimes another 
reason. The gradient must remain the same 
for a sufficient distance below the point where 
the jumper lands to enable him to get a steady 
balance on landing, and unless the steep part 
of the slope is very long, it may only be pos- 
sible by putting the platform farther back to 
ensure that the jumper shall not land too near 
the bottom of the hill. 

For the same reason (of making things easier 
for the jumper) the change of angle between 
the top part of the hill and the platform, 
and also between the lower part and the 



220 HOW TO SKI 

level outrun, should take place as gradually as 
possible. 

The preceding description shows what form 
of hill is most desirable, and is always chosen 
for competition purposes where big jumps are 
to be made. It is by no means on a hill of 
this shape alone that a jump can be made ; 
and for learning, when you will only jump a 
short distance, almost any hill will do, provided 
the ground be fairly smooth and the slope 
below the platform and the level outrun beyond 
it be long enough. 

If the shape of the hill in section is convex, 
as in the diagram, the best place for the plat- 
form, as already explained, is at or near the 
point where the angle changes, ^jvovided always 
that the steeper j^^ar^ of the hill is fully ten 
yards longer than the longest jump you will 
make. If it is a little less than this, build the 
platform farther back ; if much less, choose a 
slope where there is no change of gradient. 

The slope below the platform, or, at any rate, 
all of it except the part which the jumper would 
be certain to clear, must be free from irregu- 
larities, have a good covering of snow (at least 
a foot ivhen beaten down), and fall at a steady 



JUMPING 221 

gradient of not less than 20° for choice — if 
possible of more. 

The platform itself may be built in different 
ways ; the high platforms used in competitions 
are generally built of planks supported at the 
outer corners by posts. 

This is unnecessary in the case of a low- 
platform, such as you will use at first. 

A simple way of making it, if the materials 
are handy, is to lay two or three planks on 
top of an old packing case, and then to shovel 
snow over them. Another way is to stand 
two short sticks upright in the snow at the 
same level, and a yard or so apart, according 
to the intended width of the platform. Stack 
fir branches against them on the uphill side, 
and then build a platform of snow, or alter- 
nately snow and branches, piling it high enough 
to rise well above the tops of the upright sticks. 
Beat it down with the spade and stamp it with 
the skis until it is quite solid. 

For learning, the platform should at first be 
quite low — not much more than a foot high at 
its front edge. 

For big competitions, the platform is gener- 
ally 6 or 8 feet high, or even more, though 



222 HOW TO SKI 

Huitfeldt, a Norwegian authority, says it should 
hardly exceed 3 feet. 

Raising the platform, while increasing the 
length of the jump, also increases the shock of 
landing, and therefore the difficulty of the jump. 
This difficulty, however, depends far less on the 
height of the platform (which may, so to speak, 
be merely a negative quantity, for of course it 
is possible to make the platform look high by 
cutting away the hillside below it without 
affecting the nature of the jump) than upon 
the difference between the angle of its surface and 
that of the slope below, the most difficult kind of 
platform to jump from being that called by the 
Norwegians a "Spraet Hop" (squirt jump), 
which is higher at its front edge than where it 
joins the hillside. At first, therefore, make the 
platform at almost the same angle as the slope 
below, and join it gradually to the slope above, 
so that there is no sudden change of gradient. 

The length of the jump depends not only on 
the height, position, and angle of the platform 
in relation to the slope, but also on its absolute 
angle in space. Other things being equal, a 
platform sloping downwards at an angle of 
between five and ten degrees permits the longest 



JUMPING 223 

jumps. It would be easy to find by experiment 
exactly the most favourable angle, and, for all I 
know, this may already have been done. 

The platform's width, for practice, need be 
no more than a yard : for competitions, when 
the jumper may wish to take a fresh track, it 
is about 4 yards. 

Its length of course depends on its height, and 
on the angle that it makes with the slope 
above it. Roughly speaking, for a small jump 
the platform would be 2 or 3 yards long; for 
a big competition one at least 6 yards. 

The top of the platform must, of course, be 
horizontal in transverse section ; take care to 
build it up well at the sides in order to pre- 
vent any convexity in the middle which might 
cause the jumper to side-slip while taking off. 
Carefully stamp down the snow not only on 
the platform, but also up the track above it 
for 10 or 15 yards from the platform's edge. 

This stamping should leave the snow as firm 
and smooth as possible, but on the surface 
there should be just enough loose snow to give 
steerage way and prevent side-slip. Stamping 
with the edges of the skis on the hard trodden 
snow will generally loosen the surface sufficiently, 



2 24 HOW TO SKI 

otherwise it will be necessary to sprinkle loose 
snow over it, or to scratch it with a rake. 
According to Huitfeldt, the Telemarkings pile 
up the snow at the edge of the platform so 
as to form a shallow ridge. He says that by 
waiting until they feel the fronts of their skis 
touch this, they know when to make their 
spring, and that it helps the forward tilt of 
the body which is necessary. The latter seems 
quite likely, but a man who timed his spring 
in this way when running fast would hardly 
even begin it before leaving the platform, far 
less finish making it, as he actually ought 
to do. 

The same preparation of the track is neces- 
sary below the platform from the nearest point 
to it at which the jumper could possibly land 
to a point several yards below the longest pos- 
sible jump. Pay particular attention here to 
stamping down the snow until it is absolutely 
firm, and make this trodden track a good deal 
wider than the platform, to avoid any possi- 
bility of the jumper landing outside it, for if 
the skis sink deeply into the snow on landing, 
a very bad fall may be the result. 

After each jump snow should be thrown into 




How to carry the skis.— (LVili.) 




How to carry the skis.— (Lix.) 
(The stick resting on the right shoulder takes some weight ofif the other.i 



JUMPING 225 

any holes made in the track by the jumper 
himself or his skis, and should then be stamped 
firm and smooth ; any natural hollows likely 
to upset the jumper can also be filled up in 
the same way. If, in order to prevent side- 
slip, it is necessary to sprinkle the track with 
loose snow of a different quality to that on 
the track itself, it must be thrown over the 
whole track ; for a small patch of new sticky 
snow, or of old and fast granular snow, would 
suddenly alter the runner's speed and disturb 
his balance. 

It is better to stamp down too much of the 
track than too little, for a fall on hard snow 
is quite harmless, if the slope is steep enough, 
while in soft snow it may easily be dangerous. 
It is sometimes advisable to stamp down the 
whole of the outrun to where the jumper swings 
to a standstill. 

Equipment. — Skis for jumping should be long, 
strong, and fairly heavy, and must be grooved 
underneath. They should be but little arched, 
and should not be flexible, otherwise the shock of 
landing after a big jump will make them bend 
downwards in the middle so much as to check 
the pace and pitch the jumper forwards. 



2 26 HOW TO SKI 

Wax or polish their under surfaces as much 
as you Hke ; they cannot be too slippery for 
jumping. 

Only those bindings are suitable for jumping 
by means of which the heel end of the ski can 
easily be drawn up close to the foot when that 
is held clear of the ground. 

To carry a stick while jumping is useless, and, 
except for an expert on an easy jump, is ex- 
ceedingly dangerous. 

How to Jump. — Stand far enough up the 
track to get up a moderate speed, and not less 
than 15 yards from the edge of the platform. 
By no means risk running off the platform so 
slowly that your skis simply tip over the edge 
and bury their points in the snow. 

Clean your skis and start off in any way you 
like. If the start is on the side of the hill, and 
not on a level place, the jumper often thrusts 
his sticks into the snow on each side of the 
track, and stands a little above them, facing 
straight downhill, holding himself back by 
resting his weight on them. He can then, by 
merely letting go the sticks, start quite steadily 
without altering the position of his skis. 

Run in normal position until about 15 yards 
before the edge of the platform ; then bring the 



JUMPING 227 

feet level, and crouch down until you reach the 
position of Plate LII. 

Take care that the knees as well as the feet 
are pressed tightly together, that the weight 
is well forward, and that the hands hang as low 
as possible, i.e. with the finger-tips level with 
the ankles. Unless you pay particular atten- 
tion to this last point, and try to get as low 
as you possibly can, it is probable that your 
position, while feeling to yourself a decided 
crouch, will only appear to a spectator as a 
rather half-hearted stoop at the knees and hips. 

When this low crouch has become mechanical, 
you had better hold your arms backwards in a 
horizontal position, but to touch your ankles 
first is the best way of making sure that your 
position is correct. 

I believe that Norwegian authorities are not 
agreed as to whether the feet should be held 
level or in the normal position at this stage. 
Huitfeldt, for instance, whom I have already 
quoted, says that the Telemarkings, who in- 
vented jumping, always jump with the feet in 
the normal position. However this may be, 
most good jumpers take the level position, and 
you can safely do the same, but be sure, as you 
bring the feet level, that they do not get apart. 



228 HOW TO SKI 

The " SatsT — Take the above crouching posi- 
tion soon enough to be running steadily in it 
with every detail correct by the time you reach 
the platform, for before you reach the edge of 
this you must have your whole attention free 
to be concentrated on the actual take off, or, 
as the Norwegians call it, the " Sats." 

This movement, which, if timed properly, is 
completed at the instant that the jumper's feet 
come to the edge of the platform, has two 
objects — to increase the length of the jump, 
and to bring the jumper's body into a position 
at right angles with the slope below at the 
moment of landing. 

The latter is the more important, for unless it 
is effected, the jumper is of course bound to fall. 

Now, if the surface of the platform were in- 
clined at the same angle as that part of the 
slope below it on which the jumper lands, he 
might run down to the platform and into the 
air without ever moving from the normal posi- 
tion, and though he would not increase the 
length of his jump, he would have every chance 
of keeping his feet on landing, for his body 
would be at the correct angle (Fig. 45, a). 

But the platform itself, no matter how low 
it may be, and no matter how steep the slope 



JUMPING 



229 



above it, is nearly always less steep than the 
slope below it, often a good deal less. This, of 
course, means that the jumper in making the 




Fig. 45. 



" Sats " must not only spring, but must throw 
his body forward, or he will land as in B and c, 
and fall instantly on his back. 



230 HOW TO SKI 

It depends almost entirely on the angle of 
the jumper's hody on landing as to whether he 
shall fall or keep his balance, and that angle 
depends absolutely on the way he makes the 
" Sats." Indeed, at the moment of leaving the 
platform and completing the "Sats," the jumper 
usually is almost certain whether he will stand 
or fall. It follows, then, that the correct exe- 
cution of the ' ' Sats " is the most important part 
of the jump. It is certainly the most difficult, 
and I think you will find it much easier to over- 
come its difficulty if you realise at the outset that 
the necessary forward tilt may be effected in two 
perfectly distinct ways. 

The jumper may make the "Sats" either so 
that he leaves the platform tilted at exactly 
the angle at which he will land, or so that 
he is at right angles to the platform when 
leaving it and changes the angle of his body 
by degrees during his flight through the air. 
(See Fig. 46.) 

These two methods are none the less distinct 
for the fact that the '* Sats," as made by most 
jumpers, is a combination of the two. 

By using the first method you will be far more 
certain of landing at the proper angle, but will 
barely increase the length of your jump ; by the 



JUMPING 231 

second you will be able to lengthen your jump 




to the utmost possible extent, but will find it 



2 32 HOW TO SKI 

exceedingly difficult at first to regulate the 
forward tilt accurately. 

You had better, therefore, begin by practising 
the first method only, and keep to that until 
you can jump with accuracy and certainty, when 
you can little by little exchange it for the second 
one. 

In order to make the "Sats" by the first 
method, you have, from the crouching position 
of the first pair of figures, merely to bring your 
body and thighs into line with the legs from 
the knees downwards ; for in the crouching 
position this lower part of the legs is already 
inclined forward at about the angle at which 
you will have to land. 

In straightening up, therefore, be most careful 
to keep your legs below the knees, and also your 
feet, absolutely motionless. 

When in the crouching position make sure that 
your knees are forced forwards to their utmost 
extent, then try to imagine that they are being 
held immovably in this position, and that your 
heels are fastened firmly down to the skis. This 
will ensure your making the straightening move- 
ment of the " Sats " from the knees upwards 
only, and, if you bring your thighs and body 
exactly into line with the motionless lower part 



JUMPING 233 

of the legs, will also ensure your landing at about 
the correct angle, or even slightly more forward, 
which will not matter. 

As you straighten up, swing your arms 
forwards and upwards to help the movement, 
which, when you are used to it, you must try to 
make so smartly, and even violently, as to be 
almost instantaneous. 

The sensation, however, will be quite different 
to that of an ordinary standing long jump, in 
which the heels leave the ground as the jumper 
crouches, and the spring is made from the toes. 
In this form of the " Sats " it is very important 
that some of the weight should remain on the 
heels, which should not be allowed to rise from 
the skis in the smallest degree. You will find 
that any pressure on the toes and lifting of the 
heels will, though it may seem unlikely, almost 
certainly tend to make you finish the ''Sats" in 
an erect instead of an inclined position. 

The accurate timing of the " Sats " is naturally 
most important. If it is made too late and the 
knees are still somewhat bent as the jumper 
leaves the platform (see Plate LIIL), the comple- 
tion of the movement in the air will push the 
skis below their natural line of flight, and 
the jump will be shortened — not a very serious 



234 HOW TO SKI 

matter for the beginner. If, however, the 
"Sats" be made too soon, and the jumpers 
weight comes on his skis again before they 
have left the platform, he will have a nasty 
fall forward. This need not trouble you, for 
you are certain to find the greatest difficulty in 
managing to make the " Sats " soon enough. 

The more slowly you make the movement, the 
sooner you will have to begin it, and the more 
difficulty you will have in timing it accurately, 
but at first if you try to make it quickly you 
will probably not do it correctly. I strongly 
advise you therefore to go through the slow and 
careful practising stage, not on the jumping-hill 
at all, but without skis, in your bedroom or any- 
where else. Practise this movement at any odd 
moment ; it will soon become mechanical, and if, 
before you start jumping, you have learnt to 
make this movement quickly and accurately, 
you will have made things enormously easier 
for yourself 

When practising the *' Sats " without skis you 
will, of course, find that, as your weight comes on 
your feet again at the end of the straightening 
movement, you will be in the act of falling 
forwards. You can prevent doing so by making 
a quick stride forward with one foot and dropping 



JUMPING 235 

into the Telemark position ; but don't do this 
until the last possible moment, first making 
quite sure that you are perfectly straight from 
head to heels and inclined at a sufficient angle. 
See also that your feet are held quite parallel 
and touching each other. 

So much for the first method of making the 
" Sats." The second is as follows. From the 
preparatory crouching position spring straight 
into the air with a free, swinging action, but 
as strongly as possible, at the same time giving 
the body a slight tilt forward, so that it becomes 
more and more inclined during its flight through 
the air. The spring is made from the toes this 
time, but instead of the legs being drawn up as in 
ordinary jumping, they should be quite straight 
and in line with the body as they leave the 
ground, and the feet should be pointed down- 
wards, exactly parallel and close together. 

This movement (the arms are swung as before) 
is much like that of a dive from a springboard ; 
but while the diver's body has to make half a 
revolution, or pass through an angle of 180° 
during its flight through the air, the ski-jumper, 
even in the case of the most exaggerated ''squirt 
jump" on the steepest hill, could hardly have 
to change his angle by more than 45°. The 



2 36 HOW TO SKI 

ski-jumper then would seem to have the easier 
task. 

The difficulty is that, whereas the diver wants 
to land (?) head first, the ski-jumper would rather 
not, and instinctively shrinks from the slight 
efibrt in that direction which is necessary. 

The remarks in the description of the first 
method as to timing, &c., hold good here, and 
it is equally possible and advisable in this case 
to practise without skis. When doing so you 
should, after your spring into the air, land on 
the ground on tip-toe, tilted as much forward 
as possible, with your feet just where they 
left the ground, and absolutely parallel to and 
touching each other. A fall is avoided as before 
by dropping into the Telemark position. 

When the '' Sats " is made very suddenly 
and energetically in this way, the jumper may 
notice a tendency not merely to give an insuffi- 
cient forward tilt to his body as he springs, but 
even to tilt it slightly backwards, so that he 
lands on his back with his skis in the air ; 
and this in spite of the fact that he may 
quite have overcome his nervousness and desire 
to shrink back. 

I think it may be worth while to explain 
this. 



JUMPING 237 

A man in making a standing jump, or a dive, 
raises his heels and throws his weight on his 
toes as he crouches for the spring, i.e. before he 
begins the upward movement of the spring 
itself In this way his centre of gravity is 
brought exactly above the point from which 
he will push oiF. 

A ski-jumper as he crouches for the spring 
keeps his foot flat on the ski and his centre of 
gravity over the middle of his foot, instead of 
over the toes. If, then, from this position he 
suddenly springs directly upwards, the final 
pressure of the toes, which are farther forward 
than his centre of gravity, will tend to tilt him 
backwards. To avoid this tendency, try, in the 
crouching position, to keep your weight as far 
forward as possible (not, however, raising the 
heels, which would make you too unsteady) and 
make your spring slightly forwards as well as 
upwards. When practising, without skis, either 
method of making the '' Sats," always start 
the movement from the crouching position of 
Plate LII., and be sure that it is correct in 
every detail before you make the spring. 

Remember that it is impossible to increase the 
length of a jump on skis by springing forward 
as you would for a standing long jump, for you 



238 HOW TO SKI 

can, of course, get no purchase for the backward 
push. Even in the first method of making the 
" Sats," although the body should shoot for- 
wards, the push of the feet is almost entirely 
downwards. The "Sats," in fact, when it is a 
jump at all, is a high jump only. Any pro- 
nounced attempt to make it a long jump will 
result in a fall. 

Position in the Air (Plate L., &c.). — Having 
completed the movement of the " Sats," do not 
alter the position of your body and legs, but 
hold yourself perfectly erect during your flight 
through the air, your feet and skis being per- 
fectly level {i.e. neither ahead of the other), close 
together, and exactly parallel. The skis must as 
soon as possible be brought parallel to the slope 
below you, and therefore your feet must be 
pointed downwards, if they are not so already, 
and the toes must be pressed down to prevent 
the heels of the skis from dropping, as they are 
very apt to do. 

A jumper when in the air generally swings his 
arms round and round. Now the dog cannot wag 
its tail much without the tail wagging its dog 
a little, and as the jumper is moving freely 
through space his shoulder-muscles cannot swing 
his arms round in one direction without at the 



JUMPING 239 

same time swinging him — i.e. his body and legs 
as a whole — round in the other, though the 
movement of his body and legs will be much 
slower, as their mass is much greater, than that 
of the arms. 

If, then, he is not tilted far enough forward, the 
jumper can, by swinging his arms in a forward- 
upward-backward-downward direction, make the 
rest of himself revolve slowly in the opposite 
direction on the axis of his shoulder-joints, and 
so tilt himself gradually forward ; or, if his 
forward tilt is too great — which is not very 
likely — he can reduce it by swinging his arms 
round the other way. 

Landing. — You should land in the above 
position, with the feet level, close together, and 
pointed well down, so that the skis strike the 
ground with their whole surface simultaneously, 
not with their heels first. .Although the legs 
should be kept straight during most of the flight 
through the air, they should be bent slightly 
just before you touch the snow. 

In bending them he sure to press the knees to- 
gether, for to do so will ensure that, on landing, 
the skis are level, close together, and parallel ; 
and also, which is equally important, that they 
strike the snow flat, and not edged slightly 



240 HOW TO SKI 

outwards, as they are apt to do if the feet only- 
are held too;ether. 

This bringing together of the knees is therefore 
the greatest help to landing steadily, and if 
you remember to do it you need not think about 
bending the legs, for when his knees are touching 
and his feet parallel it is impossible for a man 
of normal build to keep his legs straight. I 
strongly advise you to include this movement 
in your practice of the "Sats" (2nd method) 
without skis. 

As you feel the ground, hut not before, drop 
smartly into Telemark position, with the weight 
well forward. This helps to diminish the shock, 
and also, of course, the chance of a fall backwards 
or forwards. It is such a help to the balance 
that when you have got into the habit of it, 
you will be inclined to begin the forward stride 
in the air. Be careful to avoid doing so, for, 
if you do, you may strike the snow with one 
ski sooner than with the other, which will very 
likely upset you. There is the same danger 
if you land with your skis apart instead of 
close together. 

As the skis strike the snow, they bend in 
the middle and each makes a depression in the 
snow. From the deepest part of the hindmost 



JUMPING 241 

of these depressions to the edge of the platform 
is the measure of the jump. The record stands 
at present at 47 metres (154 feet); you will do 
well if you jump a tenth of this distance with- 
out falling by the end of your first day's practice. 

As you drop into the Telemark position, keep 
the ankles and knees well inwards and let the 
pressure be rather on the inside of the foot, or 
your skis may run apart and upset you. 

Only run in Telemark position until you are 
certain that you have your balance. You should, 
if possible, make a merely momentary dip and 
then straighten up smartly and finish your run 
in the normal position, stopping yourself on the 
level by a swing or a jump round as soon as 
you can. 

General Hints 

Ski-jumping to the ordinarily constituted 
person who tries it for the first time is extremely 
alarming. Although when the whole of the 
hillside is of the same steepness he may from the 
starting-point see something of the lower part 
of the slope, the exact spot on which he will 
land is nearly always hidden from the jumper 
until just before he reaches the edge of the 
platform, and even from that point it is still 

Q 



242 HOW TO SKI 

invisible if the platform is built back from the 
edge of a steep slope. When the lower part 
of the jumping-hill is steeper than the upper, 
as it nearly always is, the platform, seen from 
above, appears to be projecting over the edge 
of a cliif. 

This at first gives all but exceptionally bold 
spirits an irresistible desire to shrink back on 
approaching it, and it usually takes one some 
time to overcome this desire, even after realis- 
ing that there is practically no danger at all. 
Even when the jumper feels no fear his natural 
disinclination to make his spring until he can 
see where he is going to land will for some 
time tend to make him defer the "Sats" until 
too late. 

The instinct to shrink back is, at any rate 
at first, the principal difficulty in ski-jumping, 
and I think you will find that the best way to 
overcome it is, in a sense, to give way to it — 
that is, to start under conditions which are as 
little alarming as possible and to increase the 
difficulty by very slow degrees. 

Begin by making very short jumps on a quite 
moderate slope, no steeper below than above the 
platform, which must be quite low and long. 

The fact of the slope being a gentle one does 



JUMPING 243 

actually add to the difficulty of standing, but 
only to a very slight extent if the platform 
is quite low; and this form of hill is so much 
the least alarming, that I advise you to choose 
it for your first attempts. 

Then make the same kind of jump on a fairly 
steep slope. 

Then build your platform, still quite low, 
rather back from the edge of as steep a slope 
as you can find, the slope above it being a 
moderate one. Begin here with quite small 
jumps, and gradually start farther and farther 
back until you can make, with fair certainty 
of standing, as long a jump as the form 
of the hill and platform will permit ; taking 
care, of course, that the lower slope is of ample 
length, and that there is no sudden change of 
angle where it joins the levels for this causes 
really bad falls. 

After this you can make things more difficult 
for yourself in various ways, such as increasing 
the height of the platform, or building it at 
the very edge of a steep slope instead of rather 
back from it, or making it point upwards so as 
to form a " squirt jump." 

" A squirt jump " on a moderate slope is ex- 
cellent practice. The considerable difference in 



244 HOW TO SKI 

angle between the platform and the alighting 
ground makes it necessary for the learner to 
throw himself well forward in making the " Sats," 
and the fact that he drops from a good height 
on to comparatively flat ground makes the shock 
sufficient to compel him to bend his knees and 
take the Telemark position on landing. Only 
jumps of a few yards should be made in this way, 
however. The shock is too great for safety if 
the drop is a really long one. 

On no account allow yourself to forsake easy 
hills for more difficult ones until on the former 
you can make your jumps in perfect style, correct 
to the smallest detail. 

It is only by acquiring an absolutely perfect 
style that you can make anything but the 
smallest and easiest jumps with any certainty 
of standing, and for this reason the only way 
to gain confidence is to improve your style. 

It may be a fine moral discipline to force 
yourself over jumps of an alarming size from the 
very first, but it will not make you a better 
jumper ; for if you are very nervous you will 
be able to think of nothing until the jump is 
finished, and so will learn nothing and have no 
better prospect of standing at the twentieth 
jump than at the first. 



JUMPING 245 

After a course of this it is not unlikely that 
the last state of your nerve will be worse than 
the first. 

It is a good thing to jump occasionally on 
big hills almost from the first if you can do so 
without feeling very nervous, but do not give 
up small jumps until your style is perfect, other- 
wise it never will be. 

In Norway the style of the jump is considered 
as important as, if not more so than, its length. 
At a competition a jumper receives marks ac- 
cording to the manner in which he performs 
each stage of the jump — the approach, the 
" Sats," the flight through the air, the landing, 
the rest of the run, and the swing at the 
finish. Under certain circumstances even a fall 
is not considered greatly to a jumpers dis- 
credit. If, for instance, a man makes a jump 
in good style and is evidently steady on land- 
ing, but, after running a few yards, loses his 
balance on a bad bit of ground, he may score 
higher than a man who jumps rather farther 
and finishes without falling, but does so in very 
bad style. I do not mean to say that merely 
dribbling over the edge in a graceful attitude 
is encouraged, for to jump as hard as possible is 
part of good style, and to receive any considera- 



246 HOW TO SKI 

tion a jump must, as to length, be within 
reasonable distance of the maximum allowed by 
the form of the hill and platform. 

Those who jump farthest, however, almost in- 
variably jump in the best style, and a very 
long standing jump in really bad style is sure 
to be a fluke ; so that in rewarding the most 
accurate jumpers the Norwegians probably 
reward those who in the aggregate have jumped 
the greatest distances, whatever their perform- 
ance on any single occasion may be. 

I agree, however, with Mr. Richardson in 
thinking that this system is likely to lead to 
too much stress being laid on the purely orna- 
mental side of style, and that on the whole 
it would be much better to consider only the 
length of the jump and whether the jumper 
stands or falls on landing. Always bearing in 
mind, then, that it is only a means to the end 
of jumping as far and of landing as steadily as 
possible, do your utmost to improve your style, 
watch for faults, and get other people to criticise 
you as well. Check at the outset any tendency 
to acquire any of the following bad habits : — 

In the crouching position before the " Sats " : 

Separating your feet or knees ; only bending 
slightly, instead of crouching quite low. 



JUMPING 247 

In the '^Sats": 

Making a feeble, timid effort, and not 
straightening out completely, instead of spring- 
ing smartly and vigorously to an erect position, 
with body and legs in a perfectly straight line. 

In the air : 

Bending at the hips or knees ; separating the 
skis, not keeping them parallel and in the same 
plane ; letting their heels drop ; not keeping 
the feet level ; not bringing the knees together 
before landing. 

Landing : 

Landing with the skis apart, or edged out- 
wards, or not parallel, or with one more ahead 
than the other; letting their heels touch the 
snow first ; landing with straight legs (or very 
bent ones) ; not dropping into Telemark position. 

There is a method of jumping known in 
Norway as the " traekke op," in which, during 
the flight through the air, the feet are drawn 
up as close as possible to the body, which is 
bent forward. This diminishes the resistance of 
the air and perhaps slightly increases the length 
of the jump, but is considerably more difficult 
than the upright method, because it has a 
greater tendency to make the jumper land 
leaning backwards, or with the knees and feet 



248 HOW TO SKI 

separated so that the skis are pointed apart, 
or with the legs so much bent that they are 
liable to collapse from the shock. 

In Norway this method is generally con- 
sidered less good style than the other. 

If you wish to try it you had better make 
the "Sats" in the ordinary way, straightening 
out completely before you begin to draw up 
the legs, and almost completely again before 
landing. Be sure also, in lifting the feet, to 
raise the toes well in order to avoid any risk 
of plunging the points of your skis into the 
snow on landing. 

It is very good practice for the balance to 
make jumps in this way when you cross small 
undulations in the course of a run, or even 
when the ground is quite smooth. You will 
then, of course, have to draw up your feet the 
moment you leave the ground. Be careful, by 
holding your knees together, to keep your skis 
from pointing outwards as you land. 

An expert when running fast can in this 
way jump a low fence or, to be precise, an 
obstacle 2 feet or so high. 

In spite of all that I have said about the 
necessity for taking it gradually, and keeping 
off big hills at first, you need not be afraid 



JUMPING 249 

of hurting yourself much, no matter how-far 
you may jump, provided the hill and platform 
be properly arranged, for in that case an accident 
is almost impossible. You are far more likely to 
meet with one when running at a comparatively 
low speed on tour, if the snow is soft and 
deep. 

To be able to jump even moderately well will 
enormously improve your running generally, 
and will give you a confidence and dash that 
can hardly be acquired in any other way. 

It is an excellent plan for the beginner to 
practise all the motions of jumping while running 
down a slope, without any platform, and at first 
without even a change of gradient. Make a 
mark on the ground ; run towards it, crouching ; 
make the " Sats " as you reach it, springing into 
the air if possible ; drop into Telemark position, 
and straighten up again. Practise this until on 
a slope where there is a slight change of gradient 
you can make a jump of 3 or 4 yards steadily, 
and you will find things come much easier when 
you try from a platform. 

Finally, let me remind you of the childish 
plan that I have already advocated, of pre- 
tending that you want to go faster than you 
are actually moving. You can now pretend 



250 HOW TO SKI 

that you want to stay in the air as long as 
possible — unless you really want to, which is 
unlikely at first. 

The man who wants to make a long jump 
is much more likely to stand than the one who 
merely wants not to fall. 

Short Directions for the Jump, — Bun in 
normal position until within about 15 yards of 
the platform's edge (not so close if running 
very fast), then bring your feet level and, 
keeping your knees pressed together and well 
forwards, crouch down as low as possible. When 
the hands can touch the ankles draw them 
right back. 

Just before reaching the edge of the plat- 
form make the " Sats" by either of the following 
methods : — 

1. Without raising the heels or moving the 
feet or legs below the knees, swing your arms 
forward and upward and straighten yourself 
smartly until your body and thighs are in a 
line with the lower part of the legs. You will 
then, if you have moved from the knees only, 
be leaning well forward. 

2. Swinging the arms as before, spring 
vigorously almost straight upwards from the 
platform, giving the body a slight forward 



JUMPING 251 

tilting motion as you do so, and straightening 
out completely from head to foot, but this time 
raising the heels and finishing the spring from 
the toes. 

On completing the " Sats," hold the erect 
position during the flight through the air, 
keeping the feet level and close together and 
the skis parallel to each other and to the slope 
below. 

Just before landing press the knees together, 
and, as you feel your skis touch the snow, but 
not until then, drop into Telemark position. 

The moment you feel steady straighten up 
again, finish your run in the normal position, 
and swing or jump round. 



HOW TO RUN ACROSS COUNTRY 

As soon as you have acquired a moderate 
proficiency in the various manoeuvres that have 
been described, you should have Kttle difficulty 
in getting through a run quickly and comfortably 
without feeling any temptation to use your stick 
when once the descent has begun. 

The following hints may help you when you 
go for an expedition : — 

In the first place, be sure, especially if you are 
going far, that you are taking everything you 
can possibly want — spare clothing, food, dark 
glasses, wax and rag, knife, sealskin, climbing- 
irons, repair outfit, map, compass, lantern, 
matches, &c., if you decide that any or all of 
these things are necessary. 

If the first part of the climb is along a beaten 
path, it will probably save time to cover that on 
foot. You can then either drag the skis after 
you by a string tied to the holes in their tips, 
or can carry them. Most people eventually 
prefer the latter method. 



ACKOSS COUNTEY 253 

The best way of carrying the skis is to place 
them sole to sole (tie them so if you like), and 
then either to rest them almost horizontally on 
the shoulder, points forward, and hold them near 
the bend, or to lean them nearly upright against 
the shoulder, points up, and, with the arm 
hanging almost straight, to hold them by the 
heel ends (Plates LVIII. and LIX.). 

They can also be carried by a sling from the 
shoulder, a convenient plan if any scrambling is 
to be done. 

If you are climbing the hill by the route that 
you mean to follow during the run down, you 
should take every opportunity of making obser- 
vations which will be useful to you later on, and 
will enable you to make the descent as quickly 
and easily as possible. 

Try to plan out exactly how you will take the 
run down. 

Notice all the peculiarities of the ground and 
snow, and fix in your head the principal land- 
marks. But remember that the ground will look 
very different when approached from above, and 
therefore keep on looking backwards at what 
you have passed. 

Pay particular attention to the points where 
the angle of the slope changes, in order that 



254 HOW TO SKI 

when from above you are running towards an 
invisible piece of steeper ground, you may have 
the clearest possible idea of what to expect. 

The actual climbing will at first give you a 
good deal to think of 

The ordinary procedure, when several ski- 
runners are climbing a hill, is for one to lead 
and the rest to walk in his track in single 
file. 

If the snow is soft and deep the leader's work 
may be very exhausting, and each of the party 
will have to take his turn. 

If you are leading, make your tacks as long 
as possible to avoid wasting time in kick-turns. 
Remember all that has been said about adjusting 
your course to the contour of the hill so that 
you mount at a steady gradient which is too 
steep for no one in the party, about not side- 
stepping unnecessarily, and so on. And never, 
without good reason, attempt to hurry. 

If you are not leading, and if the leader is 
a competent person, you will not have much to 
think of. If he is not, you may find following 
him a tiresome business. 

If it is really difficult to do so (not merely 
irritating), don't dream of suffering in silence, 
but complain at once, and if he is so stupid or 



ACEOSS COUNTEY 255 

inconsiderate as to persist in his misdeeds, make 
a new track for yourself. 

Don't be at all disturbed if you find yourself 
being left behind, but keep on steadily at your 
own pace. 

If you make a halt and take your skis off, 
clean them thoroughly at once, and see that their 
soles are neither wet nor warm when you put 
them on again. If you are likely to feel cold 
(and you are likely as a rule), put on spare 
clothing as soon as you stop, not after you feel 
chilly. 

Wax your skis thoroughly before starting the 
run down if the snow is sticky, or is likely to 
be so lower down ; and remember to button up 
your pockets, or you may find at the bottom 
of the hill that snow has either taken the 
place of, or ruined their contents. 

I have so far attempted no description of the 
snow itself. It varies infinitely in consistency, 
but considerably less so in appearance, and for 
this reason it is often impossible for the runner 
to be sure of the quality of the snow in front of 
him until his skis actually touch it. 

This latter fact adds considerably to the diffi- 
culty of ski-running when patches of different 
slipperiness occur at short intervals. The worst 



256 HOW TO SKI 

kind of patchy snow consists of a hard and 
sHppery ice-crust in the hollows of which finely 
powdered wind-blown snow has accumulated ; 
fortunately in this case the difference is generally 
visible, the slow powdery snow being perfectly 
white and the ice-crust rather greyer. The 
safest way of negotiating snow of this sort 
while running straight has already been ex- 
plained. 

For practical purposes the ski-runner may 
consider the snow to be of three distinct 
varieties according to the consistency of its 
surface : viz. soft snow, hard snow, and break- 
able crust. There is no real division between 
these varieties, each melting into the other 
by imperceptible gradations ; but, where the 
quality of the snow falls clearly under one 
of these headings, the runner will be obliged 
to use certain definite methods of turning 
and stopping, unless he is either a thorough 
expert, or a stick-rider of the worst kind. 
For, as I have already said, the former can make 
any kind of swing in almost any kind of snow, 
while the latter has only one method of turning, 
viz. that of dragging himself to one side or the 
other by means of his stick, carefully preserving 
while he does so his normal running position, with 



ACROSS COUNTRY 257 

the knees well bent and the skis level, parallel, 
and a yard or so apart, which manoeuvre he calls 
making a stemming curve or a Christiania swing, 
according as the turn has been a downhill or 
an uphill one. 

Assuming, then, that you belong to neither 
of these classes, you will have to know how 
to adapt the means of turning to the quality 
of the snow. It should be fairly obvious from 
the descriptions of the different swings how 
this is to be done. 

In deep loose snow make all your turns, 
whether downhill or uphill, by means of the 
Telemark swing. 

On hard snow, whether quite bare or covered 
by a very shallow layer of loose snow, make 
your downhill curves by means of the stem- 
ming turn, and use the Christiania swing for 
turning uphill. 

In breakable crust, if it is very thin, you 
may find it possible to turn or stop with the 
Telemark. If this is out of the question you 
will have to jump or step round. 

Of course soft snow may be so dense that 
the ski sinks into it but little (as in the case 
of watery spring snow) ; you will find it just 
as easy to make stemming turns and Christi- 

R 



258 HOW TO SKI 

anias in this as to make Telemarks— perhaps 
even easier. 

In the same way the layer of loose snow 
on a crust may be deep enough to allow Tele- 
marks to be made as steadily as the other 
turns. 

A breakable crust, too, may be so thin as 
to be hardly perceptible, or so thick that only 
some extra pressure (which occurs when a 
swing is made) will make it give way ; but, 
generally speaking, you will find that you are 
limited to one method or the other — if you 
want to run with the maximum of steadiness. 

Evidently, then, the Telemark is at least as 
generally useful as the other two turns to 
the moderately skilful runner who does not 
rely on the help of his stick. Yet most English 
runners undoubtedly look upon it as a pretty 
trick of no practical value, and never attempt 
it during a run. 

It is quite certain, however, that a man who 
can make a Telemark swing with fair steadi- 
ness on a hard and slippery practice-ground 
(and the average runner can do this) will find 
it far easier to do so in the soft loose snow 
which is, fortunately, the variety most commonly 
met with during a run. 



ACKOSS COUNTKY 



259 



And if he can make the swing to the left, 
he is certainly capable of learning to make it 




5 HcLrd Sh< 




3f(/ haH Snaul 7- 1 



_-,--> 



Brt<ikatU cruft 



\J 



-^ J 



^^i 



Fig. 47. — S, Stemming Turn; T, Telemark ; c, Christiania ; 
J, Jump round. 

to the right, and of turning downhill with it as 
well as uphill. 

But if the runner only learns the Telemark 



2 6o HOW TO SKI 

to the left and the Christiania to the right, 
as most people are content to do, it will be 
a long time before he can rely on them during 
a run; for only the thorough expert can make 
both these swings with steadiness and certainty 
in any kind of snow, especially if his speed 
be high or the slope steep. 

With the Christiania in particular it is ex- 
ceedingly difficult, if the snow is unsuitable, to 
make a downhill turn, and by no means easy 
to make an uphill one. 

The stemming turn, which is the only one 
attempted during a run by the average runner 
(I say "attempted" advisedly, for an examina- 
tion of his track will seldom reveal much trace of 
actual stemming), is even more difficult to make 
in unsuitable snow than the Christiania. 

The most important thing for you to remember 
when you first begin to make practical use of 
the swings, &c., while on a run, is that if you 
wish to fall as little as possible, you should 
never attempt to turn or stop while running at 
all fast. 

If you run with judgment you can always 
avoid having to do this. 

Suppose, for instance, that you find yourself 
approaching the edge of a steep slope; if your 



ACROSS COUNTRY 261 

course is clear and the slope has an easy out- 
run on to level or nearly level ground, by all 
means run straight down ; for at the bottom 
you will either run to a standstill or will 
slow up enough to be able to turn easily if 
necessary. 

If, however, there is no clear outrun at the 
bottom of the slope, or if there are obstacles in 
your path, don't dream of dashing straight over 
the edge and trying to turn off lower down, 
which you will certainly fail to do, but either 
stem, snow-plough, or side-slip straight down the 
slope, or turn off at once and take it in zigzags, 
making a downhill turn at the end of each tack 
by whatever method the quality of the snow de- 
mands. And unless you run each tack at a very 
gentle gradient indeed, you should take the further 
precaution of slowing up by turning slightly 
uphill before beginning each downhill turn. 

To check the pace by making an uphill swing 
is a much neater and easier way of doing it 
than by stemming with the lower foot ; the latter 
is a process which, when the ground is open, 
you need seldom use if you have a moderate 
command of the swings, though among obstacles 
— in dense wood and the like — you may often 
find it necessary to have recourse to it. 



262 HOW TO SKI 

The means you use for making this pre- 
liminary uphill turn will depend, of course, on 
the quality of the snow, just as in the case of 
the downhill one. 

Fig. 47 shows what turns to use in order 
to run in zigzags through snow of the three 
different qualities. The downhill turns should 
be made as shortly and sharply as possible, in 
order to prevent the pace from becoming un- 
manageable in the middle of them. 

If on account of the nature of the ground you 
decide to run straight down a steep slope instead 
of taking it in zigzags, you must, of course, be 
ready to drop into Telemark position for any 
sudden undulations or difficult snow. 

Remember that the quality of the snow de- 
pends to a great extent on the direction in 
which the slope faces. 

On slopes with a north aspect, especially if 
they are steep, the snow gets little or no sun, 
and is generally soft and easy, though even 
here it may sometimes get crusted by very 
strong winds or by frost after a warm wind or 
rain. 

On slopes which face south the snow is ex- 
posed to the rays of the sun — more or less 
directly according to the steepness of the slope 



ACROSS COUNTRY 263 

and the time of year. During the day, there- 
fore, the surface of the snow melts, freezing at 
night into a crust, and when the sun goes off 
these south slopes they are, as a rule, perfectly 
hard and icy, though when the sun is full 
on them they may become so soft that you 
will find it difficult to use any turn except the 
Telemark. 

The most difficult snow occurs on slopes 
which face a little south of east or west, and 
on due south slopes when the sun is just be- 
ginning to strike them, or is going off them ; 
for then the hard crust generally becomes more 
or less breakable. 

If you get these facts about the snow well 
into your head, it will be a great help to you 
during a run. 

You will very likely find that one kind of 
turn comes easier than another, and at first, 
when your principal object is to run steadily 
and avoid falls as far as you can, your safest 
plan will be to shape your course so as to make 
most of your turns by the method that you find 
easiest. If you thoroughly understand the con- 
ditions which afiect the quality of the snow, 
you will know where to look for that kind of 
snow which suits your favourite method of turn- 



264 HOW TO SKI 

ing, and what places to avoid for the probable 
unsuitabilit J of their surface. 

Do not forget that what is true of the main 
slopes is also true of their minor features. On 
slopes facing east or west, for instance, each 
small undulation has its north and south side, 
the surface of which is affected by sim and 
firost in just the same way as the main slopes 
facing in that direction. K you remember this 
you will often, when running across a slope 
whose general surface is difficult, be able to find 
small patches of snow on the sides of the undula- 
tions in which you can turn quite easily. 

When banning the run down always make 
up your mind before you start how you mean 
to negotiate that part of the hill which is visible. 
If some way ahead the ground becomes steeper, 
so as to be invisible, and you do not know what 
it is like, don't run at a high speed to where 
the slope changes, but approach it in zigzags, 
or at any rate slowly, in case you should find 
it necessary to turn off or stop at the edge of 
the steeper slope. By doing this you will pre- 
clude the possibility of dropping over a precipice 
on unknown ground- 
As soon as you can see what was hidden firom 
you, plan out, without stopping if possible, the 



ACEOSS COUNTRY 265 

next visible piece of your course in the same 
way. 

There is one difficulty about steering among 
obstacles which it may be as well to mention. 

Suppose you are running down or across a 
slope with a tree straight ahead of you which 
you mean to avoid when fairly close to it, by 
swinging, say, to the left. 

As you already know, you must, at the begin- 
ning of any turn, lean forwards, perhaps even a 
little outwards, never inwards. Now, if there 
were no tree in front of you, you would probably 
have no difficulty whatever in making the turn, 
but the fear of running into the tree will at 
first be almost certain to make you lean away 
from it as you begin the turn — that is, back- 
wards and to the left. You will then, if you 
don't fall down at once, at any rate fail to 
turn sharply, and so will probably do exactly 
what you were trying to avoid, viz. run into 
the tree. 

Apropos of trees, let me remind you that turns 
are mainly for steering, and that therefore, except 
just at first, they should be practised where steering 
is necessary — i.e. among trees or other obstacles. 
Unless you take every opportunity of practising 
them there, they will be of little real use to you. 



266 HOW TO SKI 

You should soon be able to make downhill turns 
on any open slope with ease, and will soon after- 
wards cease to find much fun in doing so, but 
there is no end to the difficulty and therefore the 
interest of turning quickly among obstacles, and 
anyone who is or wishes to be a good ski-er will 
not be happy unless he gets plenty of wood- 
running. Nor, for much the same reasons, will 
he be contented without plenty of had and 
difficult snow, a fact which you should lay to 
heart at the outset. 

I have already said that when running fast on 
ground that is covered with hard ski-tracks, you 
should try to avoid crossing them at a narrow 
angle. You will sometimes find that you want 
to run a traverse on a slope closely covered with 
hard parallel tracks, leading exactly the way you 
want to go and steeply enough to make running 
m them extremely unsteady. Your best plan 
here is to run almost or quite directly downhill 
across them for a short distance, and then to 
turn upwards with a Christiania and make a 
longish traverse at a less steep angle than the 
tracks; your low speed then enabling you to 
cross them at a narrow angle in safety. By 
repeating this process you will reach the point 
to which the tracks lead almost as quickly and 



ACROSS COUNTRY 267 

far more comfortably than by following them. 
To make alternate direct descents and gradual 
traverses in this way is also convenient when 
you would otherwise have to run a steep stem- 
ming traverse. 

By paying careful attention to all the above 
points you should soon be able to run safely 
and steadily, and to get down any ordinary 
hill with few or no falls. This also means that 
you will accomplish the descent in pretty quick 
time, provided that you never stop if you can 
possibly help it, and that after a fall you get 
up without either hurrying or dawdling. 

This kind of running makes no great demands 
on your skill, and still less on your nerve. Its 
main object is the avoidance of falls, and at 
first this should certainly he your sole aim. 
But if you wish to become a really good runner 
you should not allow it to remain so for long. 

The first-rate runner has absolute command 
of the various swings, &c., and can stop suddenly 
or dodge among obstacles at a pretty high speed 
with perfect steadiness (at very high speeds it is 
impossible to turn or stop suddenly; the curve 
of the swing is then bound to be more or less 
long and gradual). He never turns or stops if 
he can help it, however, but runs everything as 



268 HOW TO SKI 

straight as he can, and at the highest possible 
speed. 

There is not the least doubt that to take a 
hill in this way not only demands the utmost 
skill, but gives the greatest pleasure that ski- 
running, pure and simple, can afford. 

It is not unusual to hear a man who never 
takes the easiest slope without constant zigzag- 
ging, say that he does so because he prefers 
going slowly and spinning out the run to dash- 
ing down in a quarter of the time. He infers, 
if he does not actually say, that the fear of 
speed has nothing to do with his choice. 

You may be nearly sure that the man who 
talks in this way is inferring, if not telling, a 
lie, though very likely unconsciously. I used 
to say the same myself, and did not realise 
for some time that every ski-runner, whatever 
he may say or think, runs just as fast as he 
dares. 

I don't for a moment mean to say that there 
is anything to be ashamed of in being afraid 
of going fast. Indeed, the man who realises 
and openly admits that he is afraid, and who 
refuses to attempt anything which puts a great 
strain on his nerve, is very likely a more reason- 
able and admirable person than the one who 



ACROSS COUNTRY 269 

gradually becomes a better runner simply through 
being ashamed of admitting his cowardice even 
to himself. I only want to impress upon you 
that the sine qua non of fine ski-running is 
speed, and that if you want to become a fine 
runner, you must be always trying to take 
things faster and faster. One reason why jump- 
ing is such an excellent training for the ski- 
runner is that it accustoms him to running at 
the greatest possible speed, and to falling 
occasionally while doing so. 

To pay no particular attention to anything 
but straight running and speed from the first 
is of course absurd, for if you do this you will 
fall about hopelessly when any steering is neces- 
sary, and the most miserable stick-riding zig- 
zagger will be down a hill long before you. 

First of all, practise all the turns until you 
can make them with steadiness, for the special 
purposes and on the particular snow to which 
they are best adapted. 

If you are weak in any turn, practise that 
one especially, not only on the practice-ground ^ 
hut during a run. 

To do the latter will, of course, add consider- 
ably to the number of your falls during a run, 
but it is the only way to improve, and you 



270 HOW TO SKI 

should never, except at the very outset, or 
for some special reason, be too anxious not 
to fall. 

The boast of having accomplished a run with- 
out a single fall is usually suiSicient to stamp 
the utterer of it as either a novice or a nervous 
person, who has negotiated his whole run in the 
easiest possible way. A very moderate runner, if 
he chooses, can thus avoid falling easily enough ; 
but if he wishes to become a better one, he is 
bound to take chances, where an unambitious 
or timid one would play for safety. 

Do not forget, however, that if to boast of not 
falling lays you open to suspicion in one way, to 
boast o^ falling stamps you infallibly in another. 

After you can make all the turns pretty well 
in the snow which is easiest for each, begin to 
practise them in difficult snow. When you can 
make them while running at a moderate speed, 
try to do so at higher and higher speeds. 

You can then practise running with the same 
foot leading the whole time, and make only 
Telemarks one way and Christianias the other ; 
if you find this easier with the right foot leading, 
run always with the left foot leading until that 
comes just as easy. 

Do your utmost, in short, to improve your 



ACEOSS COUNTEY 271 

steering in every possible way, and then try to 
run everything as straight and fast as ever 
you can. 

I don't, of course, mean that you are to become 
a past master at swinging and turning before you 
try to run straight and fast, for the two things 
can be practised together. But steering must 
come first, and until you can steer as well with 
your long grooved ski and without the help of 
the stick as the most redoubtable Lilienfeld 
stick-rider with his short smooth skis, you must 
give much more attention to that than to speed. 

Your ultimate aim must, as I have already 
said, be to run in the utmost safety, with the 
utmost skill (i.e. with the least effort) and at the 
utmost speed ; but if ever, as in a race, speed is 
almost your sole object, remember the following 
facts : — 

Apart from the question of obstacles, the 
quickest way to get down a hill is of course to 
run freely straight down it. 

The second quickest way is a free direct 
descent checked at intervals by uphill swings, 
so that the speed never becomes high enough to 
be difficult. 

The third quickest way is a direct stemming 
(Telemark, snow-plough, or side-slip) descent, and 



272 HOW TO SKI 

not, as most people imagine, a free descent by- 
tacks and downhill turns. The latter method 
takes more skill and less efiort, but is a great 
deal slower. 

To sum up, let me advise you to take in succes- 
sion each of the following series of " Don ts " as 
your guiding maxim when learning cross-country- 
running : — 

(1) Dont fall (but stem, kick- turn, and stop 
ad lib,). 

(2) Dorit stop (i.e. stem ad lib., but make no 
kick- turns). 

(3) DonH stem (but make as gradual tacks as 
you like, and check the pace when necessary by- 
uphill swings). 

(4) Dont slow up before turning downhill. 

(5) Dorit — if you can safely avoid it — turn at 
all. 

When you can accomplish a run without fall- 
ing or stojjping, you may consider yourself a 
third-rate cross-country runner, being quite safe 
and not too slow. 

When you can do so without falli7ig, stopping, 
or stemming, your running will be sufficiently 
safe, fast, and in particular effortless, to be called 
second-rate. 

When you can manage most of your rim with- 



ACROSS COUNTRY 273 

out either faUirig, stopping, stemming, or turning, 
you may be quite pleased with yourself. 

The last sentence suggests a further word of 
advice. 

It is seldom reasonable to feel very proud of 
one's running, but it is often the greatest help to 
pretend to do so. 

If after taking all possible pains to learn any 
manoeuvre you still find a difficulty in doing it, 
try the effect of imagining yourself rather a 
desperate fellow — a careless, skilful, dashing 
person who has done this sort of thing all his 
life and thinks nothing of it. You will very 
likely find that this acts like a charm, and that 
it was only the stiffness that comes from over- 
carefulness which prevented you from succeeding 
before. A certain amount of "side," in fact — 
whether natural or assumed — is really an ex- 
cellent thing. Most good performers talk of 
their running — perhaps sincerely — with becoming 
modesty, but they seldom show much sign of this 
modesty in their actions when ski-ing — evincing, 
as a rule, a healthy self-confidence which might 
almost be mistaken for a desire to show off. 

In the above series of *'Don'ts" I have not 
included '' Dont use the stick" because I trust 
it would never enter your head to do so. I 



274 HOW TO SKI 

might however have said, "Don't be afraid of 
leaving your sticks at home," for unless you want 
to race uphill or on the level you can easily 
dispense with them, and to do so occasionally 
will prevent you from getting into the slovenly 
habit of prodding with the inner stick at the end 
of every swing. Not that this prodding need be 
considered a very serious crime, for as long as 
a stick is used with one hand for pushing and not 
with both for pulling, no great harm will be done 
to the style. But this prodding is a slight waste 
of energy, and therefore the tendency to do it 
should be checked. To go without a stick at all 
occasionally is the best possible way to cultivate 
a perfectly free and effortless style, not only of 
running down a hill, but of climbing up it. 

One sometimes hears the absurd statement that 
to tour without a stick is " unnatural," and 
therefore not permissible. All ski-ing is "un- 
natural." If it is "natural" to carry a stick, it 
is still more "natural" to lean on it hard the 
whole time. The only real and searching test of 
the shill and ease of a man's running is to take 
away his stick altogether and see if he can run 
fast and steadily across any sort of country with- 
out it ; and I strongly advise you to test your 
own running in this way from time to time. 



ACEOSS COUNTRY 275 

It is a curious coincidence, if nothing more, that 
in Canada it is the regular thing for ski-ers to do 
their cross-country running without sticks, and 
that in Canada, and nowhere else, an Anglo- 
Saxon (Barney Reilly) has already done some 
first-rate jumping. 

About the special dangers of ski-running a 
word or two may be useful. The risk of injury 
from falling on snow is not very great, and there 
is not much danger of any one but a lunatic 
dropping over a precipice in an unknown country, 
or dashing at full speed into a solid obstacle, 
instead of adopting the simple device of falling 
down before he reaches it, if he cannot manage 
to turn. I have never heard of anything worse 
than a broken leg (which is no doubt quite bad 
enough) resulting from a fall in snow. The kind 
of snow most likely to lead to injury is not hard, 
icy snow, as the beginner generally fancies, but 
deep soft snow, especially if covered by a 
breakable crust ; for in this the skis may plunge 
beneath the surface, and, getting jammed, may 
throw a strain on the foot or leg. 

But even here the runner whose style is good 
is not very likely to hurt himself, even when 
going fast, if his binding fits properly ; it is the 
stick-rider with his feet level and skis apart 



276 HOW TO SKI 

who gets the most awkward falls. In jumping, 
owing to the firmness of the surface, there is 
hardly any danger at all. 

The real danger of injury in ski-running does 
not consist so much in the nature of the injury 
itself as in the fact that it may leave the 
runner incapable of movement in a dangerous 
situation. 

If he is far from shelter he may be badly 
frost-bitten before he can be got home — there- 
fore the more spare clothing he carries the 
better. 

If he is alone, he will be lucky if he gets home 
at all — and any one who thoroughly realises this 
will think twice before he goes ski-ing by himself 
without saying where he is going. 

The advantage of carrying a map and com- 
pass, and of knowing how to use them in case 
of losing one's way, is obvious. It is not only 
the mountaineer but the ordinary tourist who 
is exposed to this danger, for even the latter 
should remember that when once he is above 
the tree-line a snow-storm or a fog may make 
it impossible for him to find his way for ten 
yards by eye alone. 

In thick snow or fog nothing is visible except 
a blank whiteness. When the fog or falling 



ACROSS COUNTRY 277 

snow are thin, objects which are darker than the 
snow (rock, trees, &c.) may be visible for some 
distance, but all light and shade disappears in 
the snow itself, all tracks, holes, and irregu- 
larities in its surface become quite invisible, and 
it is then impossible, in a bare tract of snow, 
for the runner to tell whether the ground in 
front of him goes downhill, uphill, or level. 

Even an overcast sky causes this curious ab- 
sence of light and shade ; and then, though the 
main landmarks may be visible, and there may 
be no danger of getting lost, running becomes 
exceedingly difficult and uncomfortable, perhaps 
even dangerous, for the snow on the edge of a 
precipice or steep drop, when seen from above, 
is apparently continuous with the snow at the 
foot of it. 

In the description of equipment I have already 
mentioned the necessary safeguards against frost- 
bite and snow blindness. 

Anything more than an allusion to the danger 
from avalanche is quite beyond the scope of this 
book. It is an intricate subject, about which 
whole books have been, and no doubt will yet 
be, written. 

I believe that even now the conditions which 
produce winter avalanches are not fully under- 



278 HOW TO SKI 

stood. On any open slope of more than certain 
steepness — 23° or so — an avalanche may start, 
especially after a thaw, or before the snow of a 
recent fall has had time to settle down. An 
avalanche, once started, can of course travel over 
a less steep slope, or even level ground. Lose 
no time in collecting all the information you 
can on the subject ; for, although the ordinary 
tourist (not the climber) can usually avoid it, 
the danger is a very serious one, and you should 
never willingly expose yourself to the smallest 
risk of it. If the risk is unavoidable, make sure 
that you can get your skis off your feet in a 
moment, for if you are caught in an avalanche 
this is the first thing to do. The next is, if 
possible, to keep your head above the surface 
of the snow. 

The ancient quip about presence of mind and 
absence of body is particularly applicable in a 
case of this sort. 

I have said something about the special dis- 
comforts and dangers of the mountains and the 
snow, but nothing about their extraordinary 
beauty and fascination. If I were better fitted 
for the task than the ordinary guide-book writer, 
I might attempt a description of them ; as I am 
not, I will spare the reader. 



ACEOSS COUNTRY 279 

To some ski-runners these beauties may be of 
secondary importance to the sport itself. The 
ski- runner may even exist who looks upon climb- 
ing a mountain as an altogether exasperating, 
but unfortunately inevitable, preparation for a 
run down, and whose ideal is an artificial jump- 
ing-hill in his garden provided with a lift. I 
have never met him. 



APPENDIX 

HOW TO PRACTISE 

Beoadlt speaking, your object in practising should be to learn 
to run first safely, then easily, and then quickly. This is more 
or less equivalent to saying that you should first learn braking^ 
then turning, and only then free straight-running, and that you 
should practise on slopes of gradually iw^reasing steepness as 
well as in all sorts of snow. 

You should, moreover, by very easy stages, leam jumping 
from the very outset. 

You will hardly be able to follow the first part of this advice 
quite literally, for to learn to brake without learning something 
about turning, or to do either without learning to run straight 
at all is nearly impossible and quite unnecessary. 

The following scheme for five days' practice is one way of 
setting to work. If it does not suit you, by aU means vary it, 
but stick to the principle of learning every manoeuvre in its 
easiest form pretty thoroughly before passing to more difficult 
ones, for this is the best way to gain confidence if you are 
nervous, and to steady yourself and avoid bad habits if you 
are inclined to be reckless. 

Never think of learning to "do a Telemark" or anything 

else for its own sake alone, and never look on jumping 

as an extra. 

380 



APPENDIX 281 

1st Morning. — Hard snow on a gentle slope 
(10° to 15°) with level outrun. 

About 15 minutes. — (1) Level going. Hill-climbing (kick- 
turns, side-stepping and half side-stepping, herring-boning, 
&c.). This will, of course, be distributed throughout the 
morning practice. 

About 30 minutes. — (2) Braking by single-stemming (half 
snow-plough) ; at first from a standstill in stemming 
position, then from a traverse in normal running position. 

About 30 minutes.— (3) Braking by snow-ploughing; at first 
nearly from a standstill on the hillside, then on the level 
after a direct descent in normal running position. 

About 10 minutes. — (4) Uphill step round to standstill from 
slow traverse in normal running position. 

About 15 minutes. — (5) Uphill stemming turns from traverse 
in normal running position. 

About 20 minutes — (6) Uphill stemming turns (snow-plough 
and lift round inner ski) on level from direct descent in 
normal running position. 

Total, 2 hours. 

Is^ Afternoon. — Shallow soft snoiv on gentle sloj^e 
with level outrun. 

About 30 minutes. — (1) Telemark-stemming while traversing; 
at first from a standstill, then from a traverse in Tele- 
mark running position. 

About 30 minutes. — (2) Telemark-stemming straight downhill ; 
at first from a standstill, then on the level after direct 
free descent in Telemark position. 

About 20 minutes. — (3) Uphill Telemark swings from traverse. 

About 20 minutes.— (4) Uphill Telemark swings from direct 
descent. 



282 HOW TO SKI 

About 20 minutes. — (5) Zigzag descent in snow-plough position. 
Total, 2 hours. 

2nd Morning. — Hard snoiv on moderate 
slope (20° or so). 
About 30 minutes. — (1) Repeat (2) and (3) of first morning's 
practice. (If slope steep enough to make snow-ploughing 
at all difficult, substitute Telemark-stemming.) 
About 30 minutes. — (2) Uphill Christiania swing from traverse ; 
first from a standstill, then while running in normal position. 

On gentle slope. 
About 30 minutes. — (3) Downhill stemming turns from a 

traverse in normal position. 
About 20 minutes. — (4) Uphill Christiania swings from direct 

descent — at first from a standstill. 

About 10 minutes. — (5) Uphill jump round to standstill from 

slow traverse. 

Total, 2 hours. 

2nd Afternoon. — Soft snow on moderate slope. 
About 50 minutes. — (1) Repeat (1) to (3) of first afternoon's 
practice, running first in Telemark, then in normal position 
when practising the swing. 
About 15 minutes. — (2) Uphill Christianias from direct descent. 
About 5 minutes. — (3) Uphill jump round to standstHl from 
traverse. 

On gentle slope. 
About 40 minutes. — (4) Downhill Telemarks. 
About 10 minutes. — (5) Practise positions of jumping ("Sats," 
&c.) during a direct descent. 

Total, 2 hours. 



APPENDIX 283 

Srd Morning. — Hard snoiv on steep slope (30°). 

About 20 minutes. — (1) Side-slipping (both traversing at 

various angles and straight down the slope). 
About 20 minutes. — (2) Uphill Christianias from traverse. 

On moderate slope. 

About 30 minutes. — (3) Uphill Christianias from direct descent. 
About 60 minutes. — (4) Downhill stemming turns. 

Repeat (3) and (4) on steep slope if you can. 
Total, 2 hours. 

Srd Afternoon. — Soft snow on steep sloj^e. 

About 10 minutes. — (1) Telemark-stemming traverses and 

direct descents. 
About 30 minutes. — (2) Uphill Telemarks and Christianias 

from traverse in normal position. 

On moderate slope. 

About 20 minutes. — (3) Uphill Telemarks from direct descent. 
About 60 minutes. — (4) Downhill Telemarks. 

Repeat (3) and (4) on steep slope if possible. 
Total, 2 hours. 

Uh Morning. — Jumping. 

Practise the positions first of all while running down a slope of 
20° or so, not merely straightening up when making the 
" Sats," but springing into the air (legs straight). Then 
do the same at the point where an upper slope of about 
20° joins a lower one of, say, 25°. Then build a low plat- 
form at the same point and practise on that. 



284 HOW TO SKI 

4ith Afternoon. 
Short practice run — say, 1000-ft, climb. 

5th Day. 
Practice expedition — about 2000-ft. climb. 

I do not expect for a moment that a single one of my readers 
will work through this course in detail exactly as I have set it 
down, but these suggestions may at least give him something to 
disagree with and rearrange. 

Some further explanation of the arrangement of the first 
three days' practice may be a help. The idea is that on each 
day the beginner shall practise both on hard and soft snow 
(by all means let him find breakable crust, too, for his stepping 
and jumping round if he wants to be very thorough) ; that on 
the first day he learns braking and the elements of uphill 
turning on gentle slopes, that next day on steeper slopes he 
learns braking, uphill turns, and the elements of downhill 
turning, and that on the third he learns to brake and turn 
uphill and, if he can manage it, doimhUl on really steep slopes. 
Incidentally he ought to learn quite enough about straight-running 
to find that the least difficult part of his first practice-run. 

The jumping and short-expedition day might very well — 
perhaps better — be taken after the second day's ordinary 
practice instead of after the third, where I have put it. 

By cutting the doumhill turns out of the three days' practice 
and learning them later, or by cutting out everything but the 
various methods of braking, the beginner can more quickly 
make himself efficient and safe (though of course slow) 
as a tourist if he is in a great hurry to become one. But 
however he varies his procedure, let him practise on different 
sorts of snow and slopes of every steepness up to 30° or so 



APPENDIX 285 

from the very first. One mistake that nearly all beginners 
make is that they never practise on anything like a really 
steep slope, the result being that the greater part of their 
practice is pure waste of time, and utterly useless to them 
when they go for an expedition. 

Finally, let me once more urge the beginner to do everything 
he can to make things easier for himself. One excellent plan 
if he is very nervous — or even if he is not — is, as Lieutenant 
Bilgeri suggests, to learn the manoeuvres of the descent on the 
level at first, by getting under way with a few I'unning steps 
and then stemming or turning before he loses impetus. Another 
plan (which should always be followed) is to try the position 
for every manoeuvre at a standstill, and to make sure that it 
is accurate in every detail before attempting that man(Buvre 
while running. This can, of course, also be done without 
skis, indoors. Indoor exercises being a pet fad of mine, I 
herewith suggest a few as more or less direct aids to ski-iug 
— if I had not been actually asked to do so, fear of ridicule 
would have prevented me. 

(1) Place heels together and knees touching, and try to turn 
toes outwards until feet are in a straight line (kick-turn). 

(2) Make as wide a straddle as possible, then try to make it 
wider. Turn toes in as far as possible (snow-plough). 

(3) Place yourself in Telemark position, right foot leading, 
knees pressed inwards. Change with a jump to same position, 
left foot leading. Repeat quickly, bringing your feet to exactly 
the same places on the floor that they occupied before, and not 
letting them point outwards. 

(4) Stand on tiptoe, feet parallel and touching. Squat and 
straighten up again repeatedly. 

(5) Stand on one foot, holding the other clear of the floor ; sit 
on the heel and rise again. 



286 HOW TO SKI 

(6) Stand on one leg and move the other about in all 
directions. 

(7) Stand with feet parallel and touching. Let yourself 
slowly fall forwards, saving yourself at the last possible 
moment by a jump with the feet together. Repeat this in 
all directions. 

(8) Stand with feet in straight line, one in front of the other. 
Jump as high as you can, land, steadily balanced, on the spot 
you left. 

(9) Practise the "Sats/' both methods, also drawing up your 
legs in the air, saving yourself from a forward fall in each case 
either by dropping into Telemark position or by a jump forward 
with both feet together. 

(10) Stand with feet parallel and touching, knees together 
and bent, body slightly stooping. Swing arms and shoulders, 
and turn head as far round to the right as you can. 
Reverse position sharply with a jump, so that feet then 
point to the right, shoulders and head full to left. Repeat 
this quickly. 



If you find any of the balancing exercises too easy, try 
them with your eyes shut. Number (10) may not teach 
you the "jerked" Christiania, but is highly beneficial to 
the liver. 



Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson «5r» Co. 
Edinburgh &* London 



